Explain : They also serve who stand and wait.

Explain : They also serve who stand and wait.


The idea that Milton seems to be expressing in the sonnet "On His
Blindness" is that God is responsible for everything that happens and
therefore He is responsible for Milton's blindness. God does not require
any work of him because of his handicap, but what God does require of
him is that he submit to the handicap that He has decided to impose on
him. This thought is assumed in the words "who best bear his mild yoke,
they serve him best." Milton (undoubtedly the speaker in this sonnet)
decides that he can best serve God by accepting his blindness and
waiting for whatever else God has in store for him. He is not necessarily
thinking that he is waiting for death or for the resurrection of Christ but
only thinking that he is waiting for whatever God decides or has already
decided will happen to him next. In a sense he means that he is waiting
for further enlightenment, further understanding. It is another way of
saying, "Thy will be done." No doubt Milton is also implying that by
bearing his blindness he can set an example for others to follow.
Patience reminds him that “ God doth not need /Either man's work or
his own gifts” God is served best by people who readily accept whatever
He has given them whether blessings or burden: Who bear his mild yoke
they serve him best.Man is too significant to understand His grand plans
.So true service may be offered not just through active achievement but
also through passive willingness to accept God's will: They also serve who
stand and wait.
So “They” include who bear his mild yoke they serve him best. And “
They” are contrasted with whom stand and wait.

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