Then Elizabeth rose from her knees, and turned towards the Bench. Like an inspired prophetess she spoke—this poor, simple, humble servant-girl of twenty years—astonishing all who heard her.
“Repent, all ye that sit there!” she cried earnestly, “and especially ye that brought me to this prison: above all thou, Robert Maynard, that art so careless of human life that thou wilt oft sit sleeping on the bench when a man is tried for his life. Repent, O ye halting Gospellers! and beware of blood-guiltiness, for that shall call for vengeance. Yea, if ye will not herein repent your wicked doings,”—and as Elizabeth spoke, she laid her hand upon the bar—“this very bar shall be witness against you in the Day of Judgment, that ye have this day shed innocent blood!”
Oh, how England needs such a prophetess now! and above all, those “halting Gospellers,” the men who talk sweetly about charity and toleration, and sit still, and will not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty! They sorely want reminding that Christ has said, “He that is not with us is against us.” It is a very poor excuse to say, “Oh, I am not doing any harm.” Are you doing any good? That is the question. If not, a wooden post is as good as you are. And are you satisfied to be no better than a wooden post?
What grand opportunities there are before boys and girls on the threshold of life! What are you going to do with your life? Remember, you have only one. And there are only two things you can do with it. You must give it to somebody—and it must be either God or Satan. All the lives that are not given to God fall into the hands of Satan. There are very few people who say to themselves deliberately, Now, I will not give my life to God. They only say, Oh, there’s plenty of time; I won’t do it just now; I want to enjoy myself. They don’t know that there is no happiness on earth like that of deciding for God. And so they go on day after day, not deciding either way, but just frittering their lives away bit by bit, until the last day comes, and the last bit of life, and then it is too late to decide. Would you like such a poor, mean, valueless thing as this to be the one life which is all you have? Would you not rather have a bright, rich, full life, with God Himself for your best friend on earth, and then a triumphal entry into the Golden City, and the singer’s harp, and the victor’s palm, and the prince’s crown, and the King’s “Well done, good and faithful servant?”
Do you say, Yes. I would choose that, but I do not know how? Well, then, tell the Lord that. Say to Him, “Lord, I want to be Thy friend and servant, and I do not know how.” Keep on saying it till He shows you how. He is sure to do it, for He cares about it much more than you do. Never fancy for one minute that God does not want you to go to Heaven, and that it will be hard work to persuade Him to let you in. He wants you to come more than you want it. He gave His own Son that you might come. “Greater love hath no man than this.”
Now, will you not come to Him—will you not say to Him, “Lord, here am I; take me”? Are you going to let the Lord Jesus feel that all the cruel suffering which He bore for you was in vain? He is ready to save you, if you will let Him; but He will not do it against your will. How shall it be?