II. If it be asked, But why should I rise early? The reply is, "To remain too long in bed" is, 1. _Waste of time_, which is unbecoming a saint, who is bought by the precious blood of Jesus, with his _time_ and all he has, to be used for the Lord. If we sleep more than is needful for the refreshment of the body, it is wasting the time with which the Lord has intrusted us as a talent, to be used for his glory, for our own benefit, and the benefit of the saints and the unbelievers around us. 2. To remain too long in bed _injures the body_. Just as when we take too much food, we are injured thereby, so as it regards sleep. Medical 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 body are _most fresh_, in order thus to obtain spiritual strength for the conflict, the trials, and the work of the day. _b._ Let some one call you, if possible, at the time which you have determined before God that you will rise; or procure, what is still better, an alarum, by which you may regulate almost to a minute the time when you wish to rise. For about twelve shillings a little German clock with an alarum may be bought almost in every town. Though I have very many times been awakened by the Lord, in answer to prayer, almost to the minute when I desired to rise; yet I thought it well to procure an alarum to assist me in my purpose of rising early: not indeed as if it could give the least help, without the Lord's blessing, for I should remain in bed notwithstanding the noise of the alarum, were he not to give me grace to rise; but simply looking upon it as a means. _c._ Rise at once when you are awake. Remain not a minute longer in bed, else you are likely to fall asleep again. _d._ Be not discouraged by feeling drowsy and tired in consequence of your rising early. This will soon wear off. You will after a few days feel yourself stronger and fresher than when you used to lie an hour or two longer than you needed. _e._ Allow yourself always the same hours for sleep. Make no change except sickness oblige you.
On December 10, 11, and 12 we had public meetings, at which the account of the Lord's dealings with us in reference to the Orphan Houses and the other objects of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution was given. It is now--December 10, 1839--five years and nine months since the Scriptural Knowledge Institution has been in operation.