The Same Words by John Nevins Andrews

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Sep 16, 1875

The Same Words.

By John Nevins Andrews

SOME persons are unwilling to speak in the prayer-meeting because they cannot have something to say which shall be new to the hearers, or which they have not in substance said before. Perhaps there is a measure of pride in this feeling that God is not at all pleased with. Suppose we cannot speak that which has not been said, we can tell the story of the cross in our own language, and the subject is incapable of becoming old. If we have a living experience each day, we bear daily testimony to the grace of God, and our words will ever be fresh and new. If we gather our manna every day, it will always be fresh and new, and acceptable. It is old manna that is stale and offensive. We do not want something instead of manna, but we want new manna every day.

So, we want a new experience daily in the things of God. Old experience, without any present salvation, is fitly represented by the manna when it bred worms and stank.

The story of the grace of God is never old, and never wearisome, when told over and over, if we only have this good thing in our hearts. It is always fresh and always new.

But Christian experience reaches forward. We shall have some new manifestations of the love of Christ to tell to others, if we only walk in his love. We shall see new beauties in his religion, and the words of Christ will have depths of meaning to us that once were wholly hidden from our view. Our story will have something new in it. And those who observe our testimony will see that we are advancing in the heavenly journey.

What a lesson is given us in Rev. 4: 8, where we are told that the four living beings "rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Why do they not become wearied with this ceaseless repetition? Undoubtedly because they see new glories and excellences in him whom they adore. So it is not the same story after all. For each successive utterance there is to them a depth of meaning which their words never had before. They are progressing in the knowledge of God, and, hence, their constantly-repeated song of adoration is ever new to them, and to all the heavenly host who hear it, and ever acceptable to Him who sits upon the throne.

When we are in earnest, we may not be so unwilling to utter in simplicity, and, if need be, in broken language, the experience of the love of Jesus. If our own souls are only filled with his love, we shall delight to tell of it, even though we utter that which we have often said before.

When our Lord was in his agony, he prayed thrice, each time using the same words. Matt. 26. The words used expressed exactly what he needed, and he did not change them for others.

It is sad to see persons unwilling to speak because they cannot make a display. It is nearly or quite as bad to see others who do speak because they imagine that they can make a display.

If such persons would humbly confess the pride of their hearts, and seek God for forgiveness, they might bear a testimony that would honor God, even though given in broken language, and telling nothing that others have not said before. How much the simplicity of our language adds to the testimony we bear.

J. N. A.