And this is the case of those who waste their time in sleep; it does not _disorder_ their lives, or _wound_ their consciences, as _notorious acts_ of intemperance do; but, like any other more moderate course of indulgence, it silently, and by smaller degrees, wears away the spirit of religion, and sinks the soul into a state of dulness and sensuality.
5. If you consider devotion only as a _time_ of so much prayer, you may perhaps perform it, tho’ you live in this daily indulgence; but if you consider it as a _state_ of the heart, that is deeply affected with a sense of its own misery and infirmities, and desires the Spirit of God more than all things in the world, you will find the spirit of indulgence, and the spirit of prayer, cannot subsist together. Self-denial, of _all kinds_, is the very life and soul of piety; but he that has not so small a degree of it, as to be able to be early at his prayers, can have no reason to think that he has taken up his cross, and is following Christ.
*What conquest has he got over himself? What right-hand has he cut off? What trials is he prepared for? What sacrifice is he ready to offer to God, who cannot be so cruel to himself, as to rise to prayer at such a time, as the drudging part of the world are content to rise to their labour?
6. *Some people will not scruple to tell you, that they indulge themselves in sleep, because they have nothing to do: and that if they had either _business_ or _pleasure_ to rise to, they would not lose so much of their time in sleep. But such people must be told, that they mistake the matter; that they have a great deal of business to do; they have a _hardened heart_ to change; they have the _whole spirit_ of religion to get. For surely, he that thinks devotion to be of less moment than business or pleasure; or that he has nothing to do, because nothing but his prayers want him, may be justly said to have the whole spirit of religion to seek.
You must not therefore consider how small a crime it is to _rise late_; but you must consider how great a misery it is to want the _spirit_ of religion; to have a heart not rightly affected with prayer, and to live in such softness and idleness, as makes you incapable of the most fundamental duties of a Christian life.
When you read the scriptures, you see a religion that is all _life_, and _spirit_, and _joy_ in God; that supposes our souls risen from earthly desires and bodily indulgences, to prepare for another body, another world, and other enjoyments. You see Christians represented as temples of the Holy Ghost, as children of the day, as candidates for an eternal crown, as watchful virgins, that have their lamps always burning in expectation of the bridegroom. But can he be thought to have this joy in God, this care of eternity, this watchful spirit, who has not zeal enough to rise to his prayers?
7. If I was to desire you not to study the gratification of your _palate_, in the niceties of meats and drinks, I would not insist upon the crime of wasting your money in such a way, tho’ it be a great one; but I would desire you to renounce such a way of life, because it supports you in such a state of sensuality and indulgence, as renders you incapable of relishing the most essential doctrines of religion.
For the same reason, I don’t insist much upon the crime of wasting your time in sleep, tho’ it be a great one; but I desire you to renounce this indulgence, because it gives a softness and idleness to your soul, and is so contrary to that _lively_, _zealous_, _watchful_, _self-denying_ spirit, which was not only the Spirit of Christ and his apostles, and the spirit of all the saints and martyrs which have ever been among men, but must be the spirit of those who would not sink in the common corruption of the world.
*Here therefore we must fix our charge against this practice; we must blame it not as having this or that particular evil, but as a _general habit_, that extends itself thro’ our whole spirit, and supports a state of mind that is wholly wrong.
It is contrary to piety; not as accidental slips and mistakes in life are contrary to it, but in such a manner, as an ill habit of body is contrary to health.
On the other hand, if you was to rise early every morning, as an instance of self-denial, as a method of renouncing indulgence, as a means of redeeming your time, and fitting your spirit for prayer, you would find mighty advantages from it. This method, tho’ it seems such a small circumstance, would in all probability, be a means of great piety. It would keep it constantly in your head, that softness and idleness were to be avoided; that self-denial was a part of Christianity. It would teach you to exercise power over yourself, and make you able to renounce other pleasures and tempers that war against the soul.