of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13).2 It is to this salvation that you are
SERMON 213
AT THE HANDING OVER OF THE CREED
Date: before 4101
We are now hoping for what we are to receive
1. The apostle says, It shall come to pass, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13).2 It is to this salvation that you are hastening, all of you that have given in your names for baptism; a salvation, a welfare, not for a short time but for eternity; a salvation, a welfare, which is not shared by us and the animals, nor by good people and bad. You can see, of course, and it is plain to all of us, that present welfare or health, which people work so hard to obtain or restore, is something not only human beings have, but also animals, great and small; from dragons3 and elephants down to flies and worms does this kind of health extend. Furthermore, human beings enjoy this kind of health or welfare, both those who call upon God and those who blas¬ pheme God.
That's why the holy psalm says, Men and beasts will you save, Lord, as your mercy has been multiplied, O God; but the sons of men shall hope under the shelter of your wings. So this salvation or welfare, by the multiple mercy of God, reaches to the least of animals; but the sons of men, who belong to the Son of man, shall hope under the shelter of your wings. That's what we are doing in this life; we are now hoping for what we are to receive afterward. And what does this very psalm promise us? They shall get drunk on the richness of your house, and from the torrent of your pleasure you will give them to drink, since with you is the fountain of life (Ps 36:7-9). The fountain of life is Christ; so that we might have some taste of it now, he became man; but its richness is being kept for us, which now more than satisfies the angels and all the heavenly ministries.4
But this comes later; now though, so that we may be able to reach that, let us call upon God, so that we may be saved, according to the apostle who said, Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13). The prophet had said this before;5 but Paul the apostle was saying that the time had now passed for the fulfillment of what was written, Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I have already said with what kind of