Any sin committed weakens the heart, and consequently leaves it the more unable to withstand a second assault — as a castle is the more easily taken when the breach is once made.2. —ObservationJ. )A tardy and reluctant confessionA. — In Christ. (Bishop Armstrong. Are there not some times when the thunderer will be heard? At length one day, after spending some time in prayer, she bounded into her mother's room, and with a heavenly smile lighting up her tears, exclaimed, "Oh, mother, God sees me, God sees me!" After many fruitless efforts, he lay down in his hammock, and soliloquized aloud, "Well, I have travelled all the world over; I lived five years in Cuba, four in Jamaica, five in Brazil; I have travelled through Spain and Portugal, and been in Africa, but I never yet was in such an abominable country as this, where a man is obliged to go to bed with his boots on." She now felt that she "had to do" with that Being "unto whose eyes all things are naked," and she shrank in terror. where do we find honest, unreserved acknowledgment of sin? When he heard the voice of the Lord, when he was called out, and forced to answer for himself, he began to make pitiful excuses. The bringing to light of the hidden things of darkness. In danger from God.II. Our Price: $7.99 Save: $22.00 (73%) Buy Now. Further yet: What was the gift? Yet so it is, and therefore let a man examine himself, whether he be in the faith or merely in the form; whether he have a good hope through grace, or a hope that will make him ashamed, whether he be in the very Presence reconciled, trustful, and loving, or yet estranged, deceiving himself, and fleeing from the only true Shelter. )LinksGenesis 3:9 NIVGenesis 3:9 NLTGenesis 3:9 ESVGenesis 3:9 NASBGenesis 3:9 KJVGenesis 3:9 Bible AppsGenesis 3:9 ParallelGenesis 3:9 Biblia ParalelaGenesis 3:9 Chinese BibleGenesis 3:9 French BibleGenesis 3:9 German BibleGenesis 3:9 CommentariesBible Hub, (5)For the little religious interest men feel in the works of nature.II. The city is a great forest, in which are innumerable fugitives from God, and sometimes the busiest are fleeing the fastest; the most conspicuous to us may be the farthest away from Him. Such a confession was infinitely worse than none. This is the very last flight of the godly soul. THE VOICE OF GOD IS ALWAYS A TERRIFIC VOICE TO THE SOUL THAT IS OUT OF CHRIST. Some men are deeply hidden there, and it is hard to find them; harder still to dislodge them. The occupations of life furnish another retreat for man when fleeing from God. And, first, remark that God, in order that "He might be justified even when He condemned," with a condescension which was intended to redound to His own glory, pronounces no curse, nor even a sentence of condemnation upon man, until He has first convicted him in his own conscience. E. C. Welldon, M. A.What is significant, as I think, in the Bible narrative, is that the moment when man hears the voice of God in the garden is the moment when he feels himself estranged from Him; he is not happy in the presence of his Maker; he shrinks from Him, and seeks any covering, however feeble, to hide him from his God. MEN MAY BE BROUGHT MORE EASILY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANYTHING THAN THEIR SIN.VII. There subdue everything that stands in conflict with the law of conscience, and the law of love, and the law of purity, and the law of truth. —ObservationJ. J. Hardy, M. Adam and all his sons shall be made to judge themselves by the Lord.4. But we may say, as St. doth of the story of Naboth and Ahab, "This history of Adam is as ancient as the world; but is fresh in practice, and still revived by the sons of Adam." The man who is at peace with God "fears no evil tidings," his "heart is fixed." Their present feelings and condition were a contrast with the past. S. Exell, M. God, indeed, gave Adam the woman; but He gave him not the woman to give him the apple. Further still: To aggrandize Adam's fault, consider how the reason of his excuse doth render it most unreasonable. Ungodliness itself consists chiefly, if not entirely, in a want of faith in Christ; and if this want of faith in Him exists, our trust must be reposed elsewhere; we either consider ourselves too pure to need a Saviour, or else we trust in future virtue to redeem past transgression. There are —(1)The hiding place of self-complacent propriety;(2)the hiding place of the reasoner;(3)the hiding place of theological dogmas. Are these high resolves prompted by an indignant sense of our ingratitude to a merciful and beneficent Creator, and a childlike desire to return to Him from whom we have departed? So fair is the house in which the man takes shelter. The answer is wide from the purpose, an accusation of the woman, yea, of God Himself: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Which indeed is a plain sophism: that is made "a cause which is not a cause," but an occasion only. It is a feeling which manifests itself under three aspects — bringing with it a sense of ignorance, of a want of righteousness, and of impurity. Man works that he may be hidden. White, M. It may be our part to hear evil counsel, to have evil friends, to live in an atmosphere of evil principles, to be offered in some form other forbidden fruit, to see others eating of it themselves; but are we at once to be led by the evil friend, to act on the evil advice, to imbibe the evil principles, to yield to the evil ways which others tread? What countless thousands of human beings have fled to this retreat; and how easily and naturally does a man take part and place with "all the nations that forget God!" E. C. Welldon, M. Again: it is some gift, some proffer, that prevaileth with it, something "pleasant to the eye," something that flattereth the body and tickleth the fancy, something that insinuateth itself through our senses, and so by degrees worketh upward, and at last gaineth power over that which should "command" — our reason and understanding. E. C. Welldon, M. A.What is significant, as I think, in the Bible narrative, is that the moment when man hears the voice of God in the garden is the moment when he feels himself estranged from Him; he is not happy in the presence of his Maker; he shrinks from Him, and seeks any covering, however feeble, to hide him from his God. My brethren, what instructive lessons does this simple question contain! And such is affliction to many a soul. The answer is wide from the purpose, an accusation of the woman, yea, of God Himself: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Here was no just detestation of the offence, but only fear of punishment.5. He is attending to rules, but not adopting soul principles of life. Fear.2. Shame. II. Any sin committed weakens the heart, and consequently leaves it the more unable to withstand a second assault — as a castle is the more easily taken when the breach is once made.2. They put on "the form of godliness, but deny its power." And if the human heart here in the body sighs and yearns for a perfectness of love and a joy Divine, the reason is, it is the heir of immortality.(J. Change ). Some "woman," something weaker than ourselves, overthroweth us, and then is taken in for an excuse. His peculiar work and office it is to release us from the terrors of conscience. We would all laugh if we heard a man greatly praised for being honest and sober when in prison, because we would know that it was impossible for him to be anything else. But He can. where do we find honest, unreserved acknowledgment of sin? Having done some deed of wrong, we do not throw ourselves in utter humiliation before the Lord, crying for His mercy, and promising better life; we stand behind a tree, thinking He will pass by without seeing us. The hardened selfishness of the sinner. But there would soon have been shipwreck in the fair weather. Why doth he make so busy a defence? We do the same thing today. That God by His power can enforce and draw all men before Him, and to confess Him too, no man can deny (Romans 14:11).2. The Lord, by the question which He puts to Adam, confronts him with His holy law. is this the right case for a creature to be in? Lastly. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. For days she was in deep distress; she wept and sobbed, and would not be comforted. The bringing to light of the hidden things of darkness. But now, to draw towards a conclusion, that we may learn "to cast off the old man," and to avoid that danger that was fatal to him, we must remember that we are not only of the first Adam, but also of the second; not only "of the earth, earthy," but also of "the Lord from heaven: and as we have borne the image of the earthy, so we must also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:47-49). It is worthy of notice, that God makes no answer to these perverse excuses. THE HUMAN CONFESSION. So fair is the house in which the man takes shelter. When your little child runs away from you, either you are an unlovely parent or the child has been doing wrong. MAN'S FROWARDNESS CANNOT OVERCOME GOD'S LOVE AND PATIENCE.II. Why doth he make so busy a defence? Which indeed is a plain sophism: that is made "a cause which is not a cause," but an occasion only. No; many times we defend it by the gospel, and even sanctify it by the doctrine of Christ Himself. They look back upon that career of self-sufficiency during which they have been arrested, like awakened sleepers upon the visions of a dream; and yet, amidst the realities to which they have been aroused, they feel a need; but know not where to turn for help. At once we recognise the presence of the Holy Ghost in this scene. Fear.2. "And the man said, The woman," etc. White, M. A.I. Now and again a gleam of light will come piercing through. Here let us mark such truths as these.1. Having done some deed of wrong, we do not throw ourselves in utter humiliation before the Lord, crying for His mercy, and promising better life; we stand behind a tree, thinking He will pass by without seeing us. Work is right — the allotment of God, the best discipline for man. David is the type of THE FLEEING SAINT (Psalm 143:9). Shall I tell thee? IV. IT IS A HARD MATTER TO BRING MEN TO CONFESS ANY MORE THAN IS EVIDENT IN ITSELF.VI. )Hiding after sinCanon Liddon.I. Disobedience is not only an injury to God, but an injury to Him in the highest degree, wherein His authority is rejected, His wisdom slighted, His holiness despised, and His providence, and power, and justice, both in rewarding and punishing not regarded.2. He hears the Voice, and does not tremble. They ask how it is possible for them to retain their youthful desire of serving Christ when their husbands make home wretched and sneer at everything high and holy. There are many who, while they are of the night and know nothing, think there is nothing which their own strength is not sufficient to perform, and that there is no degree of excellence to which they cannot of their own power attain. 4. He "taketh pleasure in the prosperity of His servants," and loves to see them in a comfortable condition. Raleigh, D. D.I. I am come to find thee, wherever thou mayest be. It is a testimony to the Divinity of our human nature. 1. If it were, there would be no conscious hiding, no more flight; the forest would then be so deep and dense that no Divine voice would be heard at all, and no Divine visitation of any kind felt or feared. that men should come to God to flee from Him! But what is the use of such defences of ourselves? It is a feeling which manifests itself under three aspects — bringing with it a sense of ignorance, of a want of righteousness, and of impurity. When conscience speaks to such as these, the helplessness which they feel partakes largely of this sense of ignorance. Dr. Nettleton used to tell a little anecdote, beautifully illustrating that the same truth which overwhelms the sinner's heart with fear, may fill the renewed soul with joy. Another way to lessen our fears is to maintain our peace with God by such a regard to His law as will not suffer us to persevere in any known sin. It makes its own judgment day.(J. So green is the leafage of the trees amid which he hides. We, as well as they, virtually say, that only for difficulty and temptation we would be very good. The moralities of life form another retreat for souls hiding from God. Conclusion: 1. Commonly enough are we told by evil-doers in excuse for their sins that no man could do otherwise were he in their position; that there is no living at their trade honestly; that in such a street shops must be open on a Sunday; that their health required an excursion to Brighton on the Sabbath because their labours were so severe; and so on, all to the same effect, and about as truthful as the soliloquy of the drunkard of Venezuela. Again: it is some gift, some proffer, that prevaileth with it, something "pleasant to the eye," something that flattereth the body and tickleth the fancy, something that insinuateth itself through our senses, and so by degrees worketh upward, and at last gaineth power over that which should "command" — our reason and understanding. Hay Aitken, M. But, if thou hast sinned, if thou hast tasted of the forbidden fruit, if thou hast meddled with the accursed thing, then, as Joshua speaketh to Achan, "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto Him" (Joshua 7:19). — Adam's mean excuse: —, 1. Yet such is the spirit of fallen man to this day. He wanted to be independent, and show that he knew what was good for him: he ate the fruit which he was forbidden to eat, partly because it was fair and well-tasted, but still more to show his own independence. Why, then, should it be said that he is hiding? God is not ignorant of the lurking places of sinners (Psalm 139). "I flee unto Thee to hide me" from the terrors of the law. Before conviction has firmly fastened hold upon the mind; when, as it were, its first strivings for audience are all that can be experienced, it is apt to be checked by the trite expedient of comparing our own godliness with that of others. But we may say, as St. doth of the story of Naboth and Ahab, "This history of Adam is as ancient as the world; but is fresh in practice, and still revived by the sons of Adam." I told you this was no answer, but an excuse; for indeed an excuse is no answer. Bonnet. If it was the voice of God which awakened conviction in Adam, how does He make that voice heard by us? NOTE: When we deny our guilt there are only two we can blame: NOTE: Martin Luther said Adam in reality said, “You, Lord, have sinned.”. If the exile gazes with yearning eyes upon the waste of waters which parts him from his native land, the reason is that his heart is there beyond the seas. One barrier interposed was guilt.2. Of this truth there can be no clearer evidence than the observation of that judgment which passeth upon every man in the private consistory of his own conscience, from which none can fly nor silence his own thoughts, bearing witness for him, or against him, no, not those which have no knowledge of God or His law (Romans 2:15).II. And such a bargain here had our first father made. WHEN MEN'S SINS ARE SO MANIFEST THAT THEY CANNOT DENY THEM, THEY WILL YET LABOUR BY EXCUSES, TO EXTENUATE THEM WHAT THEY MAY.III. Had it not been for another, he would not have had to admit even the small measure of blame that he does!4. Whatsoever it is, it is but a gift, and may be refused. Even in the blame that he takes, he finds not only an extenuation, but a virtue, a merit; for he fled because it was not seemly for him to stand before God naked! J. II. He had bought gravel for bread, wind for treasure, "hope for a certainty," a lie for truth, an apple for paradise. Feared He will be; all knees must bow to Him, all hearts must yield to Him; therefore a devout fear is the best way to prevent a slavish dread. God, indeed, gave Adam the woman; but He gave him not the woman to give him the apple. Why, then, art thou despoiled, covered with shame, and miserable? It most justifies ourselves, when we condemn our own ways and actions (2 Corinthians 7:11), and are grieved in our own hearts, and ashamed of our folly, in the errors of our ways.V. Run not behind the bush, study not apologies; make not the woman, who should help thee to stand, an excuse of thy fall; nor think that paint nor curtains can hide thy sin from Him whose "eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the sun" (Ecclesiasticus 23:19), and in whose bosom thou art, even when thou runnest into the thicket of excuses. Ah! They were "naked." —The moral senseJ. ALL MEN BY NATURE ARE APT TO COLOUR AND CONCEAL ALL THAT THEY CAN AND THAT EVEN FROM GOD HIMSELF.1. "If only Thou hadst given me a wife proof against temptation," says Adam. Proclaim war against God, whom they fight against, not only by their own sins, but much more, by making a party against Him, by drawing as many as they can procure, to be companions with them in their evils.4. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." This is just what Adam and Eve did say. Feared He will be; all knees must bow to Him, all hearts must yield to Him; therefore a devout fear is the best way to prevent a slavish dread. THAT A YIELDING TO TEMPTATION IS GENERALLY FOLLOWED BY A SAD CONSCIOUSNESS OF PHYSICAL DESTITUTION.II. Sin blinds the reason of men.3. But He can. We have all sinned "after the similitude of Adam's transgression," and we are as ready to excuse sin as to commit it. He who finds his hiding place with God in Christ does not flee from justice; he goes to meet it. If God had not called to him to reduce him, his condition had been as desperate as that of fallen angels. "The gods themselves have not strength enough to strive against necessity"; but he is weaker than a man who yieldeth where there is no necessity. IV. When conscience speaks to such as these, the helplessness which they feel partakes largely of this sense of ignorance. He will tacitly concede when concession is extorted from him, but he will make no frank acknowledgment. THE SINNER'S RETREAT.1. Why should he be ashamed of himself? Our first parents fell in their conceptions of God — omnipresence. It is moral nudity — nudity of soul — of which they are conscious. For, suppose the flesh be weak, yet the spirit is strong. This is the very last flight of the godly soul. They were unworthy of an answer. A.)LessonsG. ADAM'S CONFESSION OF FEAR PROVED HIS GUILT. He alone can hide us from these terrors. Hughes, B. D.)God's first words to the first sinner1. Flying from the one hope and opening for restoration and safety. Further: As it is something presented in the manner of a gift which overcometh us, so commonly it is but an apple; something that cannot make us better, but may make us worse; something offered to our hope, which we should fear; something that cannot be a gift till we have sold ourselves, nor be dear to us till we are vile and base to ourselves; at the best but a gilded temptation; an apple with an inscription, with an Eritis sicut dii, upon it; with some promise, some show, and but a show and glimpse, of some great blessing; but earthy and fading, yet varnished with some resemblance of heaven and eternity. Because all men desire to justify themselves, and are by nature liars (Romans 3:4), and therefore easily fall into that evil to which their nature inclines them.2. And a gift, as we commonly say, may be either taken or refused; and so it is in our power whether it shall be a gift or no. )She gave me of the tree and I did eat. The man who says this has been turned, or he is turning.1. "The woman whom Thou gavest me," said Adam. This does not appear to be an ignominious retreat; a man seems to retire (if, indeed, he may be said to retire at all) with honour. "Adam, where art thou?" When conscience speaks to such as these, the helplessness which they feel partakes largely of this sense of ignorance. I. The Name of the Lord is an high tower, into which all the righteous run and are safe.3. Didst thou not rejoice in all the faculties which He had given thee? Because these fears are seated in the soul, and are awakened there by the voice of God. In God, the saint's refuge justice also has eternal home; and purity, over which no shadow can ever pass; and law — everlasting, unchanging law — so that the trusting soul goes to meet all these and to be in alliance with all these. For, be it the world, God created it; be it wealth, He openeth His hand and giveth it; be it honour, He raiseth the poor out of the dust; be it our flesh, He fashioneth it; be it our soul, He breathed it into us; be it our understanding, it is a spark of His Divinity; be it our will, He gave it us; be it our affections, they are the impressions of His hand. ONE SIN COMMONLY DRAWS ON ANOTHER.1. "An evil bargain is an eyesore, because it always upbraideth him with folly who made it." Fuller.Here is, it is true, a confession of his sin. Why waste his time in penitence for sin? "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" In the aggregate — "Adam," the genius.2. II. Sin cannot stand before God.3. Because of the proneness of our own hearts to shift off the evil of our actions from ourselves, if possibly we can.2. Her ecstasy was now as great as her anguish had been. H. Evans, M. A.I. "The woman gave it me," then, is but a weak apology.3. In much pity and tenderness, like as a father catches up a child that is fallen, yea, "like as a father pitieth his own children, so is the Lord merciful to them that fear Him." He is yielding an outward and mechanical compliance to laws, but be has not the spirit of them in his heart.4. An answer must be fitted to the question which is asked; but this is quite beside it. Here we have the very heart and soul of conversion, "I flee unto Thee." Feared He will be; all knees must bow to Him, all hearts must yield to Him; therefore a devout fear is the best way to prevent a slavish dread. Which indeed is a plain sophism: that is made "a cause which is not a cause," but an occasion only. Open thy sin by confession to God, and the mercy of God will hide it: condemn it, and judge thyself for it; and thy excuse is made, thou shalt never be judged for it by the Lord: lay it open before the Lord, and He will blot it out forever.(A. If it be sin to tempt, it is also sin to yield; if it be sin to give of forbidden fruit, it is also sin to take; if it be sin to Suggest evil counsel, it is also sin to follow it. The want of the full apprehension of God's Providence.III. It is a testimony to the Divinity of our human nature. She is driven far out of her course, and is glad at last to find shelter in some friendly port. When this feat was accomplished, he tried in vain to get off his big riding boots. The supposition that the mere shade of the leaves could conceal them from the eye of God would have appeared to their reason, while unwarped by sin and shame, as preposterous and absurd; but now that the taint of guilt was on their souls they were ready to believe in the efficacy of any miserable subterfuge to cheat the omniscience of the Almighty. A.)ConscienceA. It was not me...it was my wife, or my husband, or my acquaintance, that persuaded me; or it was my situation in life, in which Thou didst place me! It was this fear which engendered the slavish obedience of the Israelites, and induced that dogged and sullen compliance with the law's demands which characterized the spirit in which their services were rendered. But man, dost thou not know thou art a stranger from thy God? To keep our hearts low that we may walk humbly with our God, as we are required (Micah 6:8).3. II. The soul was made to live in close communion with God. No, my friends. And determinations are made to conform more literally to the demands of the Divine law. for a son of Anak to be chased by a grasshopper! J. Morris.I. So fair is the house in which the man takes shelter. Adamson. For the conscience can never be at rest so long as wilful sin remains in the heart. "The woman," etc. He wanted to be independent, and show that he knew what was good for him: he ate the fruit which he was forbidden to eat, partly because it was fair and well-tasted, but still more to show his own independence. And then, to make an exact anatomy lecture, we will lay open the danger of the disease, that we may learn to avoid what was fatal to our parents,, and, though we sin with Adam, yet not with Adam to excuse our sin. — have they not all been endeavouring to escape from God, and to lead a separated and independent life? The guilty rebel hides from the Divine Presence.II. If it was the voice of God which awakened conviction in Adam, how does He make that voice heard by us? The fears of the mind, being supernatural and spiritual, can admit only of a spiritual remedy. We may measure sin by the temptation: it is always the greatest when the temptation is least. I ask you, is your conscience easy? Adam is confounded and speechless before his Judge. "Where art thou?" WHOSOEVER WILL CONVINCE A MAN OF SIN MUST CHARGE HIM PARTICULARLY WITH THE VERY ACT IN WHICH HE HATH SINNED. Further yet: What was the gift? Mursell.I. The sunken rock, the unknown current, the treacherous sand, were just before the ship. MEN MAY BE BROUGHT MORE EASILY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANYTHING THAN THEIR SIN.VII. A. It comes to quench the sunshine, to pour the pitiless rain, to raise the stormy wind and drive the soul away to port and refuge, away to harbour and home within the circle of Divine tranquillity — in the deep calm of the everlasting Presence. Again: It is but, "The woman gave it." A MISERABLE SUBTERFUGE FOR SIN. It is necessary, then, to deepen the conviction which he feels in his troubled conscience. ")Two kinds of retreatsA. The storm was her salvation. Adam had fled, but God must have him come to His bar. Show themselves much more dangerous enemies to mankind than murderers, who destroy only the body, whereas these lay wait for the soul (Proverbs 22:25).3. Believer, if you have David's faith you have David's Refuge. If it was the voice of God which awakened conviction in Adam, how does He make that voice heard by us? We call it "an apple": some would have it to be an Indian fig. Adam had fled, but God must have him come to His bar. But instead thereof, Adam flies from God. This is the very last flight of the godly soul. And no doubt he stated the case as it really was; the guilt did not begin with him; Eve led the way; her foot first crossed the forbidden line. He thinks it enough to say that his passions are very strong. There is no way of fleeing from omnipresence. Hast thou lost the crown with which I adorned thy brow? To keep our hearts low that we may walk humbly with our God, as we are required (Micah 6:8).3. And determinations are made to conform more literally to the demands of the Divine law. And therefore let us not flatter ourselves, saith he, because we read in Scripture that "the flesh is weak"; for we read also that "the spirit is ready" (Matthew 26:41); "that we might know that we are to obey, not the flesh, but the spirit."III.
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