edical
persons would readily allow that the lying longer in bed than is needful
for the strengthening of the body does _weaken_ it. 3. _It injures the
soul._ The lying too long in bed not merely keeps us from giving the
most precious part of the day to prayer and meditation, but this sloth
leads also to _many other evils_. Any one need but make the experiment
of spending one, two, or three hours in prayer and meditation before
breakfast, either in his room, or with his Bible in his hand in the
fields, and he will soon find out the beneficial effect which early
rising has upon the outward and inward man. I beseech all my brethren
and sisters into whose hands this may fall, and who are not in the habit
of rising early, to make the trial, and they will praise the Lord for
having done so.

III. It may lastly be said, But how shall I set about rising early? My
advice is, 1. Commence at once, delay it not. To-morrow begin to rise.
2. But do not depend upon your own strength. This may be the reason why
before this you may have begun to rise early, but have given it up. As
surely as you depend upon your own strength in this matter, it will come
to nothing. In every good work we depend upon the Lord, and in this
thing we shall feel _especially_ how weak we are. If any one rises that
he may give the time which he takes from sleep to prayer and meditation,
let him be sure that Satan will try to put obstacles into the way. 3.
Do trust in the Lord for help. You will honor him if you _expect_ help
from him in this matter. Give yourself to prayer for help, expect help,
and you will have it. 4. Use, however, in addition to this, the
following means: _a._ Go early to bed. If you stay up late, you cannot
rise early. Let no society and no pressure of engagements keep you from
going _habitually_ early to bed. If you fail in this, you neither can
nor ought to get up early, as your body requires rest. Keep also
particularly in mind, that neither for the body nor soul is it the same
thing whether you go to bed _late_ and rise _late_, or whether you go to
bed _early_ and rise _early_. Even medical persons will tell you how
injurious it is to sit up late, and to spend the morning hours in bed;
but how much more important still is it to retire early and to rise
early, in order to _make sure of time for prayer and meditation before
the business of the day commences_, and to devote to those exercises
that part of our time when the mind and the bod