Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and 2 beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that the ever-merciful and benignant Father of us 3 all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic 4 work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, 5 make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset, help them to crush the foe, grant to them 6 and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory— 7 An aged stranger entered, and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed 8 upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair 9 descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to 10 ghastliness. . . . 11 The stranger touched [the minister's] arm, motioned him to step aside—which the startled minister 12 did—and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spell-bound audience with solemn eyes, 13 in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said— 14 "I come from the Throne—bearing a message from Almighty God! . . . Upon the listening spirit of God 15 the Father fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen! 16 "O Lord, our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle—be Thou near them! 17 With them—in spirit—we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O 18 Lord, our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling 19 fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of 20 their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us 21 to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with 22 their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, 23 sport of the sun-flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring 24 Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it—for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, 25 blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, 26 stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is 27 the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His 28 aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen." The old man's frequent references to God serve primarily to:

Question

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and 2 beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that the ever-merciful and benignant Father of us 3 all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic 4 work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, 5 make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset, help them to crush the foe, grant to them 6 and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory— 7 An aged stranger entered, and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed 8 upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair 9 descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to 10 ghastliness. . . . 11 The stranger touched [the minister's] arm, motioned him to step aside—which the startled minister 12 did—and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spell-bound audience with solemn eyes, 13 in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said— 14 "I come from the Throne—bearing a message from Almighty God! . . . Upon the listening spirit of God 15 the Father fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen! 16 "O Lord, our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle—be Thou near them! 17 With them—in spirit—we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O 18 Lord, our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling 19 fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of 20 their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us 21 to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with 22 their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, 23 sport of the sun-flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring 24 Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it—for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, 25 blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, 26 stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is 27 the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His 28 aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen." The old man's frequent references to God serve primarily to:

make the choice that faces the congregation a simple matter of logic
offers a choice to listeners between war and love of god
give him authority as a prophet of equal stature to the minister
expose how Christians have abandoned their god in favor of war
emphasize his belief in god over warfare, violence, and other forces

Answer 1

The old man's frequent references to God serve primarily to emphasize his belief in God over warfare, violence, and other forces.