2. God called so, as to fasten sin upon his conscience, and as to force a confession from him of his naked and shameful state.
3. God called so, as to make him tremble under, and be afraid of the judgment of God.
"And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" Indeed, Where art thou must of necessity be forcibly urged to every man on whose soul God doth work effectual conversion; for until the person is awakened, as to the state and condition he is in, he will not desire, nay, will not endure to be turned to God; but when in truth they are made to see what condition sin hath brought them to, namely, that it hath laid them under the power of sin, the tyranny of the devil, the strength of death, and the curse of God by his holy law; then is mercy sweet.
"Where art thou?" God knew where he was, but foolish Adam thought otherwise; he thought to hide himself from the presence of the Lord, but the Lord found him out. Indeed, deluded sinners think that they can hide themselves and sins from God. "How doth God know," say they, "Can he judge through the thick cloud?" (Job 22:13). But such shall know he sees them; they shall know it, either to their correction, or to their condemnation. "Though they dig into hell," saith God, "thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence," &c. (Amos 9:2,3).[12] "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer 23:24).
Ver. 10. "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
This then was the cause of his flying, he heard the voice of God: A wicked and evil conscience saith, every thing is to it as the messenger of death and destruction; for, as was said before, "the voice of the Lord walked in the garden in the cool of the day," in the time of grace and mercy. But it mattereth not whether he came with grace or vengeance; guilt was in Adam's heart, therefore he could not endure the presence of God: He "that doeth evil hateth the light" (John 3:20). And again, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth" (Pro 28:1). Cain thought all that met him, would seek his blood and life.
"I heard thy voice." Something by the word of God was spoken, that shook the heart of this poor creature; something of justice and holiness, even before they fell into this communication: for observe it, Adam went forthwith from the tree of knowledge of good and evil a convinced man, first to his fig-leaves, but they would not do; therefore he seeks to be hid among the trees. And observe again, That the insufficiency of fig-leaves were discovered by this voice of the Lord God, that at this time walked in the garden: "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." So then, there was a first and second voice which Adam heard; the first he ran away from, "I heard thy voice, and hid myself." The second was this, wherein they commune each with other. The first therefore was the word of justice, severity, and of the vengeance of God; like that in the 19th of Exodus, from the pronouncing of which, a trembling, and almost death, did seize six hundred thousand persons.
"I heard thy voice in the garden." It is a word from without that doth it. While Adam listened to his own heart, he thought fig-leaves a sufficient remedy, but the voice that walked in the garden shook him out of all such fancies: "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Ver. 11. "And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"
"Who told thee?" This, as I said before, supposeth a third person, a preacher, and that was the Son of God; the voice of the Lord God that walked in the garden.