"Now as for poor Bob Fowler, you know very well that he never went to church, never thought of keeping holy the Lord's day, that he was in the constant habit of profane swearing, that he never spoke of religion but to laugh at it, and that instead of having God in all his thoughts, he lived in a total forgetfulness both of him and of his laws. Now the Scriptures tell us, over and over again, that _the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God_. If these words of Scripture be true--and you acknowledge yourself that they are so--Fowler was certainly in a dangerous state. Now, neighbour, suppose you were to see a blind man walking right on to the brink of a pit, and ready to fall into it, should you think it _ill-natured_ to tell him of his danger? And is it _ill-natured_ of Mr. Hooker, to try to save a man from falling into the pit of destruction?" "But why should he do it at such a time--when Bob has a broken leg to vex him?" "I know," replied Oldacre, "that Mr. Hooker did sometimes speak to him when he was in health; but Fowler was either sulky, or turned it into joke: he was one of those, who _sit in the seat of the scornful_; it was like _casting pearls before swine, which turn again and rend you_. His present confinement offers an opportunity for giving him some notions of religion; and our good minister, who is always on the watch for opportunities of being of use, most likely felt, that if this opportunity was not taken advantage of, he might never have another." "But is it not enough to drive a man to despair," said Barton, "to talk to him about death and judgment, and future punishment?" "It is rather the best way to save a man from despair. Mr. Hooker speaks to him of future misery, in order that he may escape it. I dare say that he tells him, as he tells us in church, that if he will but repent of and forsake his sins, full forgiveness is offered, through the mediation of the Redeemer. A man who wilfully goes on in a worldly, ungodly course of life, has certainly nothing before him but a _fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation_. Surely it is not _ill-natured_, but rather the kindest thing that can be done for such a man, to try to persuade him to flee from the wrath to come, by changing his course of life by the aid of God's grace, and by seeking for God's mercy through Christ, before the gates of mercy are closed for ever."