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is impossible under it. This demands a renewed mind--the gift of a new nature, the
Spirit, to take the place of the old nature, the flesh.
The crucifixion of the old man is in practice the crucifixion of desire.
"Walk in spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5: 16).
"They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its affections and desires" (Gal. 5: 24).
Where does this lead? Are we to be merely passive? No, for that means opening the
door to unseen yet great powers of evil. It is for us to recognize that God's will is
supreme, that our new nature desires nothing more and nothing less than that will of God.
Mere personal desires sink before that perfect will of God. Instead of mere passivity
there is a glorious opportunity for real activity.
"Present your bodies a living sacrifice . . . . . be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God"
(Rom. 12: 1, 2).
The working of these two desires may be seen in Psa. 73:, and we may have to
confess that the language of Asaph is by no means foreign to our experience. The old
desire was manifested in his "envy" at the prosperity of the wicked, which is perhaps best
summed up in the words of verse 7 (margin): "Their eyes stand out with fatness: they
pass the thoughts of the heart." The new desire expressed is the result of entering into the
sanctuary of God. Then the same Asaph can say: "There is none upon earth that I
desire beside Thee" (verse 25). When that is the true expression of the heart and life, we
shall be led by the Spirit indeed, and shall have approached one step nearer to Him Who
could say: "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me"
(John 5: 30).