April 2, 2015 | David the Warrior

On any day in Florence, Italy, one observes a long line of people waiting to go inside and see Michelangelo’s masterpiece called “The David.” This brilliant sculpture seems to breathe and live. It embodies all the great humanist qualities prized by Michelangelo and his age. It is larger than life in both general and specific ways.

For example, the hands are twice the proper size for the statue. The master crafted them that way on purpose because supersized hands fit his big message: that mankind is the triumphant controller of all. In many world cultures, the hand represents the seat of power. Thus the statue boldly proclaims that the ideal human is in charge of all. He is lord of all he surveys with those piercing eyes.

David – the real one of the Bible – would strongly disagree with Michelangelo’s message. He counters by saying that his hands are only great because of God’s training. It is YHWH who rules as Lord. David even wrote that he could not live were not God’s hand shading him. Further, David’s hands [and by extension his life] are only useful and powerful when they are trained by God. Thanks to that training, David becomes a great warrior. He smashes God’s opponents. He is victorious, but only because of the Lord’s blessing through His training.

of Duffield and arms

In contrast to his disagreement with Michelangelo, David appears to completely concur with the Apostle Paul, purveyor of a more nuanced humanism. Paul taught that we dare not trust our own flesh – our immaterial nature tainted by sin. Paul teaches that humans are wonderful, yet must find their strength and direction in the Lord alone.

Considering David’s and Paul’s ethic, a pastor named George Duffield would make an artistic contribution of his own. This one would center on the arm rather than the hand. Below is the story as it appeared on the site http://wordwisehymns.com:

The father and grandfather of George Duffield were both Presbyterian clergymen, and after he graduated from seminary, George followed in their footsteps. He served a number of churches, but it was his pastorate at a church in Philadelphia (1852-1861) that is of most interest to us.

The winter of 1857-58 witnessed the igniting of revival fires in the city. At the centre of this great work was a 33-year-old servant of God named Dudley Tyng. Yet the spiritual harvest was clearly the Lord’s doing, not the result of one person’s ability. Working men used to gather, day after day, during the noon hour, to hear the Word of God.

One day, 5,000 men packed into a local hall. They listened as Mr. Tyng preached a powerful message of commitment. In the course of his sermon, he made this declaration: “I must tell [fulfill] my Master’s errand. And I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short in my duty to you in delivering God’s message.” When the service reached its close, over a thousand men committed their lives to Christ.

Shortly after, Mr. Tyng went to visit a local farm, where he watched with fascination the operation of a corn-shelling apparatus worked by mule power. But suddenly, as he was standing near, the sleeve of his coat caught in the gears, and his arm was pulled into the machine. He was severely injured, and soon infection set in. In those days before antibiotics, that was a life-threatening condition. Several days later Tyng died. His friend, George Duffield, was at his bedside. He asked the dying man if he had any message for the men back in the city. “Tell them to stand up for Jesus,” he replied.

It was for a memorial service in honour of Dudley Tyng that Pastor Duffield wrote the hymn poem that echoes that phrase. (Note the reference to the failure of “the arm of flesh” which perhaps relates to Mr. Tyng’s words and his tragic accident.)

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

I pray that we become great warriors in the Lord. It can’t be achieved Michelangelo’s way – by exalting our own human power and throwing a biblical name on it. The only way to victory is that expounded by David, Paul, and Rev. Duffield. Stand in God’s strength alone.