Cain, unrepentant, went his own way. His own way was to depart from the presence of God. "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden" (4:16). Adam was driven out of paradise, out of the garden of Eden, but Cain went away from the presence of God. Although he worshipped God, he eventually left the presence of God. What kind of worship was that? I hate any kind of worship that keeps people from God's presence. Do not say, "What is wrong with the way we are worshipping God?" It is wrong if it keeps you from God's presence. How terrible it is to be a person on this earth without the presence of God.
Now we return to the question we asked about the meaning of being driven out from the face of the earth. If you are a person who does not live in the presence of God, you have no place to live on this earth. The earth was made for the people who live in God's presence. In Genesis 4:14 the face of the earth is equivalent to the face of God. Although the words "face" and "presence" in verses 14 and 16 are translations of the same Hebrew word, the King James Version purposely used the English word "face" in verse 14 in order to match "the face of the earth" with "thy face," meaning the face of God. Cain said, "Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid." Thus, if you do not live in the face of God, you are not rightly living on this earth. If you do not live in the presence of God, you are robbing the earth. The earth was not made for those who are against God; it was created for the people who live for God. Therefore, if you have no standing in the face of God, you have no place on the earth. Hence, to be driven out from the face of God is equivalent to being driven out from the face of the earth. Logically speaking, this may not sound correct, but, spiritually speaking, it is accurate. If you are not in the presence of God, you will have the conviction that you have nowhere to go. You will have the sense deep within that you are a wanderer. You would even say, "There is no place on earth for me." However, when you are in the presence of God, every place is heaven. Every place is so pleasant. No one who lives in the presence of God would ever commit suicide. Only those who have lost God's presence to the uttermost and who have become vagabonds on the earth, people without a dwelling place, contemplate suicide. Our real dwelling place is the presence of God.
During World War II, because of my work for the church, I was put into prison by the Japanese army which had invaded China. Everything in that prison was dirty. That imprisonment was a real suffering to me. But the Lord was there, and I was in His presence. Never have I enjoyed the Lord's presence as much as during that period of imprisonment. One night I had a thorough dealing with the Lord. According to my sensation, it seemed as if the Lord were in front of me. My tears came down, and I said, "Lord, it is too good." That was my experience in prison. That prison became the heavens to me, and I dwelt with the Lord in the heavens.