The Psalmist said, "I myself will wake early" ( Ps 57:8 ). That is good text for a practical sermon. If a horse is going at a lazy jog-trot we waken him up; so should we do with our bodies, for they are our servants. One wide-awake Christian will do more than ten sleepy ones.
1. Be wide-awake in your business, or profession, or study, or play, and in everything, "Do it with thy might." Idleness and laziness are sins. I like to see bricklayers work; but some other people make me tired to look at them, or hear them speak.
2. Wake up and plan to be on time at every church service, as if you were catching a train. Frequently the larger half of a congregation arrives after the time for opening. I have heard of an unpopular "three-handed person," who had a right hand, a left hand, and was a little behind hand. When you are behind hand, do not put the blame on your clock or watch, as wide-awake people do not have slow timepieces.
The minister is often the most to blame for educating people to come late by not starting every service on the minute. If they are tardy in beginning a service, some people will be still more tardy in coming. The preacher should be the last one to arrive, and he should always begin on time.
A woman, being asked how she could always be on time at every service, answered: "It is part of my religion not to disturb the religion of others."
3. Keep wide-awake in church. Do not work too late on Saturday, have the church well ventilated and take notes of what is said.
4. If you are leading a meeting always be wide-awake. A preacher suggested to his congregation to take snuff to keep them awake. One replied, "Put a little snuff in your sermon." Many speakers give good thought and use nice language, but they lack animation and dynamite, or have a monotonous tone, or downward reflection, and so put people to sleep.
5. In religious meetings or in talking about Christianity be wide-awake, and do not look as solemn as an owl, or as if you lived in a graveyard. Don't sigh and groan. Many people, I fear, confound dolefulness and stupidity with seriousness and reverence.
6. Sing with spirit and fervor instead of drawling, like "The tune the old cow died on."
7. Be wide-awake in prayer. A Christian, while praying for an unconverted man felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard a voice saying "Stop a moment; if you are going to pray for me, I want you to do so as if you meant it." Do not in prayer-meeting, family prayer or any place else be formal, or stupid.
8. The unconverted should arouse. God calls, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead."
9. Christians who are "at ease in Zion" should at once wake up. Paul cries, "Awake to righteousness and sin not" ( 1 Cor 15:34 ).
10. We should all be wide-awake to our spiritual and eternal interests. Make the most of your opportunities, not only of getting good, but also of doing good. Do not spend your time waiting round and telling what you are going to be and do, but wake up and be and do something now.
Brother Love
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