‘And he said, “I heard the sound of your presence in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” '
How quickly the man gives himself away. The futile coverings that they had made had proved useless, as do all man's attempts to make himself acceptable to God. (‘Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags' declares the prophet in Isaiah 64:6) Now he has to recognise the folly of his ways. ‘I was afraid because I was naked'. The knowledge of God's presence had intensified his sense of shame. Now he knew himself for what he now was, and it caused him to give himself away completely. ‘And I hid myself '. The frank admission that alone could give him hope. He does not try to brazen it out before God. He admits his unworthiness, his shame, that he is not fit to meet God.