diff --git a/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js b/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
index 02d17d64..ae85c4f0 100644
--- a/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
+++ b/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
@@ -1495,6 +1495,11 @@ var VirtualRenderer = function(container, theme) {
             if (_self.theme)
                 dom.removeCssClass(_self.container, _self.theme.cssClass);
 
+            var padding = "padding" in module ? module.padding 
+                : "padding" in (_self.theme || {}) ? 4 : _self.$padding;
+            if (_self.$padding && padding != _self.$padding)
+                _self.setPadding(padding);
+                
             // this is kept only for backwards compatibility
             _self.$theme = module.cssClass;
 
@@ -1502,10 +1507,6 @@ var VirtualRenderer = function(container, theme) {
             dom.addCssClass(_self.container, module.cssClass);
             dom.setCssClass(_self.container, "ace_dark", module.isDark);
 
-            var padding = "padding" in module ? module.padding : 4;
-            if (_self.$padding && padding != _self.$padding)
-                _self.setPadding(padding);
-
             // force re-measure of the gutter width
             if (_self.$size) {
                 _self.$size.width = 0;