3. THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. This good fortune and peace of the Lutheran church did not last long. Satan did not cease to attack her. For his purpose he especially used the Jesuits, a new order of monks. These allied servants of the Pope used every means to suppress the Lutheran church. As advisers of princes, in the confessional, and as teachers at the higher schools they fanned the flame of hatred against the Lutherans, and their endeavors were not in vain. Through them a war of thirty years began to rage in Germany. During the reign of Emperor Rudolph II the religious peace guaranteed at Augsburg was broken repeatedly, and the Lutherans were sorely oppressed. Finally, when a Protestant church in Bohemia was forcibly closed and another was even torn down, the storm broke loose. By it the greater part of Germany was laid waste, and untold misery was caused. Everywhere the evangelical princes were defeated, and their cause seemed to be lost. The Pope and his minions rejoiced. But in the hour of greatest distress help appeared in the person of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. Everywhere the people welcomed him. However, in his march of triumph through Germany he met with a bloody death. On the 6th of November, 1632, a battle was fought at Luetzen. In the Swedish army the trumpeters played the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Then the whole army sang, "May God Bestow on us His Grace." Whereupon the king cried, "Now at it! In the name of God! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help us fight this day in honor of Thy holy name!" The Swedes gained a glorious victory, but their king, struck by a bullet, fell dying from his horse. Sixteen years longer the deplorable war raged on. In 1648 the long-desired peace was finally concluded. In it the Religious Peace of Augsburg was again acknowledged and extended to include the Reformed church. The Pope protested violently, but in vain. It is true, conditions after the war were terrible in Germany, also for the Lutheran church. But the chastenings of the Lord strengthened the faith in His Word, and the church flourished and prospered. Faithful pastors strengthened the Christians by their sermons and their writings, and everywhere the seed grew and brought fruit. It was just in this time that pious poets made their harps resound and sang their glorious hymns to the honor and praise of God.