54. The idea of these people will not
trouble us much if we look at their actions. They will not have
Him to be judge over them, Whom nothing deceives; they will not grant
to Him the knowledge of things hidden, for they are afraid their own
hidden things may be brought to light. But the Lord, also,
“knowing their works, has given them over unto darkness. In
the night,” he says, “he will be as a thief, and the eye of
the adulterer will watch for the darkness, saying, No eye shall see me;
he hath covered up his face.” Job xxiv. 14, 15. For every
one that avoids the light loves darkness, seeking to be hid, though he
cannot be hid from God, Who knows not only what is transacted, but also
what will be thought of, both in the depths of space and in the minds
of men. Thus, again, he who speaks in the book Ecclesiasticus
says: “Who seeth me? The darkness hath covered me,
and the walls have hidden me; whom do I fear?” Ecclus. xxiii. 18. But although lying on his bed he may
think thus, he is caught where he never thought of it. “It
shall be,” it says, “a shame to him because he knew not
what the fear of the Lord was.” Ecclus. xxiii. 31.