Thus far therefore Moses has set before us the judgment which God exercised after the sin of the fall of our first parents. He calls them to his tribunal, and convicts them, and interrogates them, and hears them. They, poor creatures, desire indeed to escape that judgment, but they cannot; nay, while they attempt to excuse themselves they doubly accuse and betray themselves. The woman acknowledges what she had done. Adam attempts to conceal the fact, although according to the very nature of sin he does not wish it to appear to be really sin at all. For as long as grace is withheld from the sinner it is impossible for him to do otherwise than excuse himself, and try to make his sin appear to be righteousness. God therefore is always compelled thus to contend with us by his laws, until he extorts from us the confession of our sins and brings us to justify him; as it is written in Ps. 51:4, where this confession is fully described. But as long as the law rules alone and galls the conscience, the conscience thus terrified cannot bring out this confession, as the examples of Adam and Eve here fully show. From this portion of the sacred record of Moses the holy prophets drew many divine truths; for they studied this book of Moses with far greater diligence and stronger faith than we do. From this source they derived the following holy sentences: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth," Prov. 28:1. "The wicked are like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest; there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked," Is. 57:20, 21. "He that believeth shall not be ashamed," Is. 28:16. "The righteous are bold as a lion," Prov. 28:1. "The just shall live by his faith," Hab. 2:4. From this same place of Moses Christ also drew that memorable saying of his, which we find in the Evangelist John, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light," John 3:20. For it is the very nature of sin that whoso committeth sin desires to remain hidden in darkness, and not to be brought into the light, just as Adam covered himself with fig-leaves and fled to conceal himself among the trees.