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John Milton wrote Sonnet #19 (“When I consider how my light is spent”) about his blindness several years after he became blind. The opening lines allude to Jesus’ parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. Milton feels that his talent for writing has been buried due to his blindness. In line 7 he is tempted to murmur against God when he comes to ask for an account, but Patience prevents him. Instead, he recognizes that God does not need man’s work or the gifts that God has given to him. God is a king with many servants, and we serve him best by bearing well whatever yoke he gives us. The poem ends with the well-known line: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

SONNET 19: ON HIS BLINDNESS – by John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide.
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Related posts:

• John Milton’s 400th Birthday
• Background information on Sonnet 19
• Sonnet 7 – How soon hath Time

John Milton wrote Sonnet #7 (“How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth”) on the occasion of his 23rd birthday. He was in process of completing his Master of Arts degree and was contemplating his future career. One possibility was to become an Anglican priest. Another was to continue his work in poetry. In light of all this, he reflects on how quickly the last year has gone. Notice the pun on the word “career” in line 3, which can mean “a swift course” as well as “one’s profession or occupation in life.”

Milton aspired to be a great poet but was not satisfied with what he had written so far (“my late spring no bud or blossom show’th” in line 4). However, even though his literary output was not what he wanted, he was confident that an inner maturing was taking place which would bear fruit in its proper time (lines 7-8).

The final six lines of the poem show Milton’s determination to continue his work. He knows that God is the one who ultimately directs his steps, allots him his tasks, and determines the timing. Whether God has high or low (“mean” in line 11) tasks planned for him, nothing is wasted. The next year Milton embarked on a six year program of self-study in preparation to become a poet.

SONNET 7: HOW SOON HATH TIME – by John Milton

How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,
Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year!
My hasting days fly on with full career,
But my late spring no bud or blossom show’th.
Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth,
That I to manhood am arrived so near,
And inward ripeness doth much less appear,
That some more timely-happy spirits endueth.
Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,
It shall be still in strictest measure even
To that same lot, however mean or high,
Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heaven;
All is, if I have grace to use it so,
As ever in my great Taskmaster’s eye.

Related posts:

• John Milton’s 400th Birthday
• Background information on Sonnet 7
• Sonnet 19 – When I consider how my light is spent

Today is John Milton’s 400th birthday, so I will be sharing some Milton with you this week. John Milton is generally regarded as the greatest English poet after Shakespeare. His most famous work is the masterful epic poem Paradise Lost. He also wrote other poems, as well as a number of political works.

Milton aspired at a young age to write a great epic poem. In order to do this, he devoted himself to years of study. He learned Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Italian in his undergraduate years. After receiving his M.A., at age 24 he undertook six years of private study in preparation for his poetical career. During this time he immersed himself in both ancient and modern works of theology, philosophy, history, politics, literature, and science. He also wrote several lengthy poetical works.

In the 1640’s Milton’s poetical ambitions got sidetracked by the English Civil War. Milton spent the next decade writing mostly political works. He did not return to poetry until after he went blind in 1652 at the age of forty-three. He wrote Paradise Lost during the years 1658-1663 and died in the year 1667.

Athough Milton was not orthodox in his beliefs (he had a deficient view of the trinity, and he rejected the duality of body and spirit), his works are well worth reading and studying by Christians. Paradise Lost in particular, with its focus on the fall of man, has many rich insights for believers.

Related posts:

• Sonnet 7 – How soon hath Time
• Sonnet 19 – When I consider how my light is spent

Also of interest: An Interview with Leland Ryken about Milton’s Paradise Lost

You know it’s Christmas when …

Santa gives you a month with no Mondays.
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Click on a month for more Garfield Mondays:  January, February, March,
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Check back the first Monday of each month for more Garfield Mondays.

Yesterday’s message was called The Star of Bethlehem, taken from Matthew 2:1-12. The message explored God’s purpose for the Star of Bethlehem both then and today. Here is a brief outline of the message:

    I. Consider the heavens
    II. Consider the Scriptures
    III. Consider the miracle
    IV. Consider the purpose

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Jim Martin offers five suggestions for staying fully alive. “It is unnecessary to shut down prematurely. Yet, some of us will need to be very intentional about staying fully alive.”

Tim Keller explains the difference between legalistic and gospel repentance. “Legalistic remorse says, ‘I broke God’s rules,’ while real repentance says, ‘I broke God’s heart.’ Legalistic repentance takes sin to Mt. Sinai, gospel repentance to Mt. Calvary. Legalistic repentance is convicted by punishment, gospel repentance becomes convicted by mercy.”

Dan Phillips encourages you to move the “but.” “Until now, it has been: ‘God says to obey, but I have these excuses/challenges/difficulties.’ And so you don’t start. The issue is still whether to obey. This thinking ill-befits a slave, much less a son. From now on, it must be ‘I have these excuses/challenges/difficulties, but God says to obey.’ And then you start. Now, the issue is not whether, but how. This is thinking like a slave, and thinking like a son. Move that ‘but.’ Then move yours.”

Wayne Grudem comments on God’s instructions to husbands in 1 Peter 3:7. “So concerned is God that Christian husbands live in an understanding and loving way with their wives, that he ‘interrupts’ his relationship with them when they are not doing so. No Christian husband should presume to think that any spiritual good will be accomplished by his life without an effective ministry of prayer. And no husband may expect an effective prayer life unless he lives with his wife ‘in an understanding way, bestowing honour’ on her. To take the time to develop and maintain a good marriage is God’s will; it is serving God; it is a spiritual activity pleasing in his sight.”

Richard Clark reflects on how the iPhone has affected his life. “The iPhone has affected my downtime. It’s safe to say I can’t remember a time I was forced to simply sit and think. When I’m walking somewhere, waiting in line, or trapped in a room with no food (it could happen), I always have the ability to read the Bible, check my calendar or email, twitter, check facebook, or listen to some music. The benefit here is it enables me to more easily keep up with various tasks. I like to communicate with friends through email, facebook and twitter. I need to keep on top of my schedule with my calendar. If anything’s a necessity, isn’t scripture? And yet, another necessity is simply thinking about all of these things. In an iPhone culture, the single most frightening danger is that we will all be too busy reading, checking, tweeting, and updating that we forget to think about how and why we do those things at all.”

Ben Witherington shares his eulogy for his Dad who passed away last week. “Let’s clear up a few things from the outset. My father is not a lost loved one. If anyone is in Christ they are now and perpetually and vitally alive. Dad’s not lost, we know right where to find him—in the very presence of the Lord in heaven. Secondly, my father is not gone, in the sense of ceasing to exist. He has simply gone on, like a ship goes over the horizon to a far destination. The fact that I can’t see him anymore here on this earth, says something about my limitations, not about his at this juncture. Thirdly, Dad has not gone from a greater form of existence to a lesser, quite the reverse. He has left the realm of suffering sin and sorrow, disease decay and death, which is this world, and he has gone to a realm where every tear is wiped from every eye, and all is well. As the resurrection of Jesus shows, God’s yes to life is louder than and triumphs over death’s no.”

I love this video. It is a remarkable blend of musical, lyrical and visual arts working together as the artists reflect on the bittersweet (but mostly sweet!) transition from single to family life from a Christian perspective.

Andrew Peterson, “Family Man” (Video length: 4:05)

GOODWILL EDITION.

An Exercise in Honesty. When is a Richard Simmons videotape worth $1,000? When you find $1,000 stuffed inside the box. When is an 11-year-old girl a great example of honesty? When she returns the money to the Salvation Army so they can help more people in need.

Ring for the Ringer. A volunteer ringing the bell at a Salvation Army kettle in south-central Pennsylvania got an unusual donation: a diamond ring. The ring was handed to August Memmi, who volunteered for the Salvation Army in Harrisburg during his lunch hour Tuesday. The young man told Memmi that he’d bought the ring for his mother using money he’d earned mowing lawns, but she died this year and he wanted to put it to good use.

Keep Your Money in Your Shoe. It was her first day as an employee at the Goodwill store in Glen Carbon, IL. Teodora Petrova, a recent immigrant from Bulgaria, discovered a shoebox stuffed with $7,500 in cash mistakenly donated with old shoes. She promptly turned the money over to management who were able to locate the donor. Goodwill gave Petrova a $500 reward for her honesty. She also got two checks — one for $100 and another for $75 — from private donors.

On the way out of the nursing home where I preach twice a month, one of the elderly ladies asked me, “Are you a pastor or a normal person?” Sometimes I wonder that myself!

Stuart Briscoe shares the following wonderful story Captain H. S. May shared with him when Briscoe was preparing to join the Navy at age seventeen.

“The first night in the barrack room I knelt by my bed and prayed.”

“What happened?” I ventured.

“They threw boots at me,” he replied casually, as if this were an everyday occurrence.

“What did you do?” I queried, hardly daring to ask.

Looking at me as if the answer was so obvious he was surprised I should ask, he replied, “I cleaned them and returned them, of course!”

Are you wondering when your favorite Christmas special will be broadcast this year? Check out the complete list of 2008 Christmas movies.

Check out the latest posts at the dullest blog in the world:

• Tidying some pencils (March 16, 2006)
  Some pencils were scattered around on my desk. I picked them up one by one. I placed the pencils in the drawer which I use to store pencils.
• Opening a cupboard door (October 17, 2005)
  There was a cupboard in the corner of the room. I reached out my hand and gripped the door handle. I pulled the door towards me, thereby opening the cupboard.
• Standing in the middle of the room (April 21, 2005)
  I was standing at a central point in the room. The walls were all at approximately the same distance from me. I continued to stand there for a few moments.
• Scratching my knee (September 10, 2004)
  My knee had a slight itch. I reached out my hand and scratched the knee in question. The itch was relieved and I was able to continue with my activities.
• Moving an item from one place to another (July 21, 2004)
  There was an object occupying a space on my table. Using my hand I picked up the item from its place. Having considered my options for a moment I placed the object on a different area of the table.

Read more thrilling entries like these over at Dave Walker’s The Dullest Blog in the World. Be sure to check out Dave’s more “serious” site too at CartoonChurch.com.