Puritan and later Puritan‑Reformed writers take “calling upon the name of the Lord” as a compact way to describe the whole act of saving, evangelical prayer: humbling oneself, trusting Christ, and publicly owning him in worship and life, especially in light of Joel 2:32 / Romans 10:13. They strongly resist treating it as a mere verbal formula and insist it is the heart’s faith‑filled invocation of the triune God in Christ.[1][2][3][4]
## Soteriological emphasis
– A classic Puritan summary (often cited later) on Rom 10:13 says: “He who calls on the name of the Lord profoundly humbles himself before God, recognizes his power, adores his majesty, believes his promises, confides in his goodness, hopes in his mercy, honours him as his God, and loves him as his Saviour.” This description, frequently quoted in Reformed and Puritan circles, unpacks “calling” as a cluster of faith, hope, love, adoration, and submission, not bare recitation.[1]
– Puritan preachers also stress that those “who look to be saved” must use “necessary means and ways,” including “(1) Calling upon the name of the Lord. (2) Believing on him. (3) Hearing his word,” reading Rom 10:13–15 as a structured order in which calling is the believer’s responsive act to the preached gospel.[2]
## Prayer and public worship
– Thomas Cobbet’s *Gospel Incense, or a Practical Treatise on Prayer* (a classic Puritan work on prayer) explicitly links “calling upon the name of the Lord” with corporate and continual prayer, describing public prayer as “a public profession and expression of one and the same faith” shared by the congregation. He defines prayer as lifting up the heart to God, insisting that the essence of calling on the Lord lies in this interior elevation of the soul rather than mere outward gestures or words.[3]
– In Cobbet’s account, “incessant prayer, or prayer without ceasing, is a duty which the Lord requires of all… his people,” and such prayer is characterized by attentive, God‑ward meditation on “what, of whom, and through whom they are to ask” (i.e., the Father, through Christ, by the Spirit). This integrates Puritan Trinitarianism with the Pauline language of calling on the Lord.[3]
## Pastoral and experiential preaching
– Puritan‑stream preaching on texts like Psalm 116:13 (“I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord”) reads the phrase as the believer’s thankful response to experienced deliverance: receiving salvation and then living in ongoing prayer, vow‑keeping, and public worship. Such sermons often highlight the moment when the distressed soul, feeling “the sorrows of death” and “the pains of hell,” “then called… upon the name of the Lord” and was delivered.[5][6]
– Experiential writers in this tradition emphasize that “calling upon the name of the Lord to save us is a heartfelt response at distress of our sin,” drawing heavily on the Psalms where the psalmist cries out of deep trouble. This fits the Puritan focus on conviction of sin, spiritual agony, and then casting oneself upon Christ by prayer.[7][8]
## Christological reading of Joel 2:32 / Romans 10:13
– Puritan and Puritan‑influenced authors also use Rom 10:13 polemically and doxologically to assert the deity of Christ: the one whose name is invoked in Rom 10:13 is identified with the Yahweh of Joel 2:32. To “call upon the name of the Lord” in the New Testament is therefore to call upon Jesus as Yahweh‑Tsidkenu, “The Lord our Righteousness,” and this practice of invocation is itself an act of Christological worship.[4][9]
– This Christological appropriation preserves the Old Testament covenantal sense of “calling on the name of Yahweh” (as in Abram building altars and calling on the Lord) while now centering it on Jesus as the incarnate Lord in whom God’s name and righteousness are revealed.[9][10][4]
If helpful, a next step could be a brief table of specific Puritan authors (e.g., Cobbet, Owen, Goodwin, Sibbes) with where they use Joel 2:32 / Rom 10:13 language and how they nuance “calling on the Lord” in relation to assurance, conversion, and corporate worship.
Sources
[1] ‘How beautiful are the feet . . .’ – Banner of Truth USA https://banneroftruth.org/us/
[2] Ordination of Ministers | Reformed Theology at A Puritan’s Mind https://www.apuritansmind.com/
[3] Gospel Incense or a Practical Treatise on Prayer – A Puritan’s Mind https://www.apuritansmind.com/
[4] Jesus is God – by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon – A Puritan’s Mind https://www.apuritansmind.com/
[5] To Souls in Agony – The Spurgeon Library https://www.spurgeon.org/
[6] November | 2015 | Dead Theologians Society Blog https://
[7] What is the difference between “calling” on the name of the Lord and … https://www.facebook.com/
[8] The Nature of Saving Faith – Romans 10:10-13 – Logos Sermons https://sermons.logos.com/
[9] Hallowed Be Thy Name – Modern Reformation https://www.modernreformation.
[10] Genesis 12:4-9: Building Altars to the Lord – Covenant Fellowship … https://cfcstuttgart.org/
[11] Question about Rom. 10:13 | The Puritan Board https://puritanboard.com/
[12] A Free Grace Promise: Whosoever Shall Call on the Name of the … https://www.sermonaudio.com/
[13] Matthew 6 https://www.walkingwithgiants.
[14] Why Preaching?: A sermon on Romans 10:14-17 https://www.mljtrust.org/
[15] Why was I blocked from seeing a gospel message? – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
