Protest of the Princes
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entreated that he would no longer war against the truth. The papist
concealed his anger, but immediately repaired to the king, and obtained
from him authority to arrest the protester. When Melancthon returned
to his house, he was informed that after his departure officers in pursuit
of Grynaeus had searched it from top to bottom. He ever believed
that the Lord had saved his friend by sending a holy angel to give him
warning.
The Reformation was to be brought into greater prominence be-
fore the mighty ones of the earth. The evangelical princes had been
denied a hearing by King Ferdinand; but they were to be granted an
opportunity to present their cause in the presence of the emperor and
the assembled dignitaries of Church and State. To quiet the dissen-
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sions which disturbed the empire, Charles V., in the year following
the Protest of Spires, convoked a Diet at Augsburg, over which he
announced his intention to preside in person. Thither the Protestant
leaders were summoned.
Great dangers threatened the Reformation; but its advocates still
trusted their cause with God, and pledged themselves to be firm to
the gospel. The Elector of Saxony was urged by his councillors not
to appear at the Diet. The emperor, they said, required the attendance
of the princes in order to draw them into a snare. “Was it not risking
everything to shut oneself up within the walls of a city with a powerful
enemy?” But others nobly declared. “Let the princes only comport
themselves with courage, and God’s cause is saved.” “Our God is
faithful; he will not abandon us,” said Luther. The elector set out,
with his retinue, for Augsburg. All were acquainted with the dangers
that menaced him, and many went forward with gloomy countenance
and troubled heart. But Luther—who accompanied them as far as
Coburg—revived their sinking faith by singing the hymn, written
on that journey,—“A strong tower is our God.” Many an anxious
foreboding was banished, many a heavy heart lightened, at the sound
of the inspiring strains.
The reformed princes had determined upon having a statement of
their views in systematic form, with the evidence from the Scriptures,
to present before the Diet; and the task of its preparation was com-
mitted to Luther, Melancthon, and their associates. This Confession
was accepted by the Protestants as an exposition of their faith, and
they assembled to affix their names to the important document. It was