"David and Goliath", c 1542-44, by Vecellio Tiziano (Titian).
1 Samuel 17:32-37 - And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Of all of the artwork I have seen of this famous narrative, I think Titian gets the gold star for a proper view. Everyone else, that I have seen, portrays David standing victorious over Goliath, but they miss the real victor in the battle: YHWH (Yahweh, God)
While everyone else was wetting their pants over this 9 foot, mountain of a man, David rightly proclaims, "the Lord... will deliver me from the hands of this Philistine".
If we are to admire David, we should be admiring him for his faith, not his victory over Goliath. The victory belongs to the Lord. We should stand in awe of God's glory. Titan gets it!
