# “Our Lord defends and preserves us” by Zacharias Ursinus - Link: https://tollelege.net/2026/01/29/our-lord-defends-and-preserves-us-by-zacharias-ursinus/ - Published: 2026-01-29T09:31:54-06:00 - Author: tollelege **1. Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?** **A.** That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[ 5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10] > **[1] I Cor. 6:19, 20 [2] Rom. 14:7-9. [3] I Cor. 3:23; Tit. 2:14. [4] I Pet. > 1:18, 19; I John 1:7; 2:2. [5] John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14, 15; I John 3:8. [6] John > 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; II Thess. 3:3; I Pet. 1:5. [7] Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16- > 18. [8] Rom. 8:28. [9] Rom. 8:15, 16; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14. [10] > Rom. 8:14.** --- “The substance of our comfort therefore is briefly this: _—That we are Christ’s, and through Him reconciled to the Father, that we may be beloved of Him and saved, the Holy Ghost and eternal life being given unto us._ That this comfort alone is solid, is evident, first, because it alone never fails— no, not in death; for “whether we live, or die, we are the Lord’s;” and “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (**Rom. 14:8; 8:35**) And, secondly, because it alone remains unshaken, and sustains us under all the temptations of Satan, who often thus assails the Christian: 1. **‘Thou art a sinner.’** To this, comfort replies— Christ has satisfied for my sins, and redeemed me with His own precious blood, so that I am no longer my own, but belong to Him. 2. **‘But thou art a child of wrath and an enemy of God.’** **Answer**— I am, indeed, such by nature, and before my reconciliation; but I have been reconciled to God, and received into His favor through Christ. 3. **‘But thou shalt surely die.’** **Answer**— Christ has redeemed me from the power of death, and I know that through Him I shall come forth from death unto eternal life. 4. **‘But many evils, in the mean time, befall the righteous.’** **Answer**— But our Lord defends and preserves us under them, and makes them work together for our good. 5. **‘But what if thou fall from the grace of Christ? For thou mayest sin, and faint, for it is a long and difficult road to Heaven.’** **Answer**— Christ has not only merited and conferred His benefits upon me, but He also continually preserves me in them, and grants me perseverance, that I may neither faint nor fall from His grace. 6. **‘But what if his grace does not extend to thee, and thou art not of the number of those who are the Lord’s?’** **Answer**— But I know that grace does extend to me, and that I am Christ’s; because the Holy Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God; and because I have true faith, for the promise is general, extending to all them that believe. 7. **‘But what if thou hast not true faith?’** **Answer**— I know that I have true faith from the effects thereof; because I have a conscience at peace with God, and an earnest desire and will to believe and obey the Lord. 8. **‘But thy faith is weak, and thy conversion imperfect.’** **Answer**— Yet it is nevertheless true and unfeigned, and I have the blessed assurance that “to him that hath shall be given.” “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.”(** Luke 19:26; Mark 9:24**) In this most severe and dangerous conflict, which all the children of God experience, Christian consolation remains immoveable, and at length concludes: therefore Christ, with all His benefits, pertains even to me.” –Zacharias Ursinus, _**[The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1959515411?tag=toletaupanre-20)**_, trans. G. W. Williard (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2025), 21. [⌊Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism by Ursinus⌉⌊Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism by Ursinus⌉[ More quotes from [Zacharias Ursinus](https://tollelege.net/category/zacharias-ursinus/)· More on [Assurance](https://tollelege.net/category/assurance/)