"No man also having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is better." ( Luke, v. 39.)
Here is disclosed another secret in human nature—the power of man's habits and associations; one which, humanly, so hinders the power of God in his soul. We have been feeding upon the old wine (that which the flesh has been providing for us from our birth), and our appetite for the new wine (that which the Son of God has brought with Him since nature and the flesh) is spoiled. We are all conscious of this. How can ye do good, says, the prophet, who are accustomed to do evil? Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? (Jer. 13:2323Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 13:23)). And here the Great Prophet, in like wisdom, warns us that "no man having drunk old wine, straightway desireth new."
And it is a solemn warning. " All things are possible with God," it is true; and, " He giveth more grace." But still we do well to take heed against relishing the old wine. Every thought that we follow, every desire that we indulge, savors of either the old or the new. It is a draft, small it may be, but still it is a draft of one or the other.
And this leaves a solemn word behind it, on the heart and conscience of each of us. What are you thinking of, what are you tasting now? we may say to our souls through the day. Is it provision for the flesh you are making, or is it a walk in the sanctuary? Comes it from heaven or from hell? And ofttimes the saint has to learn, to his sorrow and shame at the end, the provision he had been making by the way. The patriarch was not drunk at the beginning, but he became a husbandman, planted a vineyard, and then drank of the wine. " Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing," the soul may indignantly reply; but if the hidden tempers of the dog be allowed, his active fury will break out in time. " Walk in the spirit," that is the divine security, "and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh' (Gal. 5:1616This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)). And surely a little of that walking should enable us to change the speech, and to say, The new is better. That is what our blessed Lord would have. The holy, watchful habit of denying the flesh, its tempers and its lusts, will keep the appetite fresh and ready for this new and better wine: and into all this may the gentle and yet strong hand of the Spirit lead our souls daily. (An Extract).