Ogil.] Well ther, Cool, have you never yet appeared before God, nor received any fentence from him as a Judge?
Cool.] Never yet.
Ogil.] I know you were a ſcholar, Cool, and 'tis generally believed that there is a private judgement beſides the general one at the great day, the former immediately after death.—Upon this he interrupted my arguing
Cool.] No ſuch thing! No ſuch thing! No trial till the great day. The heaven which good men enjoy after death, conſifts only in the ſerenity of their minds, and ſatisfaction of a good conſcience, and the certain hopes they have for an eternal joy, when that day ſhall come. The puniſhment or hell of the wicked immediately after death, conſiſts in the dreadful ſtings of an awakened conſcience, and the terror of facing the great Judge, and the ſenfible apprehenſions of eternal torments enſuing; and this bears ſtill a due proportion to the evils they did when living: So indeed the ſtate of ſome good folks differs but little in happineſs from what they enjoy in the world; ſave only that they are free from the body, and the ſins and ſorrows that attend it: On the other hand, there are ſome who may be ſaid, rather not to have been good, than that they were wicked, while living; their ſtate is not eaſily diſtinguiſhed from that of the former, and under that great claſs comes a great herd of ſouls, a vaſt number of ignorant people, who have not much minded the affairs of eternity, but at the ſame time, have lived in much indolence, ignorance, and innocence.
Ceil.] I always thought that their rejecting the terms of ſalvation offered, was a ſufficient ground for God to puniſh them with his eternal diſpleaſure; and as to their ignorance, that could never excuſe them, ſince they lived in a place of the world where the knowledge of theſe things might eaſily have been attained.
Cool.] They never properly rejected the terms of Salvation, they never ſtrictly ſpeaking rejected Chriſt:poor
