Wanting to pull money from my Merrill Lynch to pay bills

Hey, so I am In a finacial pinch, I'm starting a new job next week, but i need to pay my rent, and with no finances at the moment I was considering to pull out enough from my Merrill lynch to pay for the rent.

My question is would I get penalized or does this reason (pay bills) waive the penalties?

Is there any other options for me?