ject the yoke that is imposed on us." "At the same
time we are in expectation that his imperial majesty will behave toward us
like a Christian prince who loves God above all things; and we declare
ourselves ready to pay unto him, as well as unto you, gracious lords, all
the affection and obedience that are our just and legitimate duty."(296)

A deep impression was made upon the Diet. The majority were filled with
amazement and alarm at the boldness of the protesters. The future appeared
to them stormy and uncertain. Dissension, strife, and bloodshed seemed
inevitable. But the Reformers, assured of the justice of their cause, and
relying upon the arm of Omnipotence, were "full of courage and firmness."

"The principles contained in this celebrated Protest ... constitute the
very essence of Protestantism. Now this Protest opposes two abuses of man
in matters of faith: the first is the intrusion of the civil magistrate,
and the second the arbitrary authority of the church. Instead of these
abuses, Protestantism sets the power of conscience above the magistrate,
and the authority of the word of God above the visible church. In the
first place, it rejects the civil power in divine things, and says with
the prophets and apostles, '_We must obey God rather than man._' In
presence of the crown of Charles the Fifth, it uplifts the crown of Jesus
Christ. But it goes farther: it lays down the principle that all human
teaching should be subordinate to the oracles of God."(297) The protesters
had moreover affirmed their right to utter freely their convictions of
truth. They would not only believe and obey, but teach what the word of
God presents, and they denied the right of priest or magistrate to
interfere. The Protest of Spires was a solemn witness against religious
intolerance, and an assertion of the right of all men to worship God
according to the dictates of their own consciences.

The declaration had been made. It was written in the memory of thousands,
and registered in the books of heaven, where no effort of man could erase
it. All evangelical Germany adopted the Protest as the expression of its
faith. Everywhere men beheld in this declaration the promise of a new and
better era. Said one of the princes to the Protestants of Spires, "May the
Almighty, who has given you grace to confess energetically, freely, and
fearlessly, preserve you in that Christian firmness until the day of
eternity."(298)

Had the Reformation, aft