8457. 'And behold, on the face of the wilderness' means a new will. This is clear from the meaning of 'the wilderness' here as a new will that comes through the introduction of truth. The new will received by a member of the spiritual Church is formed from good by means of truth; it manifests itself with him as conscience, a conscience consisting of truth, as is clear from what has been shown already about the regeneration of the spiritual man. Strictly speaking 'a wilderness' means that which is uncultivated and uninhabited, and in the spiritual sense means a place where there is no goodness or truth, thus also where there is no life, 1927, 2708, 3900. When therefore it says that the dew appeared on the face of the wilderness, with the manna underneath the dew, 'the wilderness' means a new will.