About this print

Watchman With a Lantern, 1 Corinthians 16:13

Four short commands from Paul, and one figure who keeps all of them at once: awake, standing, steady, holding up a light.

What is painted

It is night, drawn in the style of a linocut: a black sky scored with white cuts, a scatter of stars, dark hills in the distance. On the top of a massive block wall a man in a hooded robe and belted tunic plants his feet, a staff in one hand, and stretches the other arm high with a lantern. Its golden rays are the only color in the picture.

Below and to the right lies a town with square houses and a tower, a few windows still glowing yellow. Under the image, in bold capitals: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong”, with 1 Corinthians 16:13 underneath. Black, cream and gold give it a sharp, vintage feel.

Paul's four commands at the end of a letter

The verse comes in the last chapter of Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, among practical notes about a collection for Jerusalem and travel plans. Suddenly he writes four brisk imperatives, almost like orders given to a guard, and then softens them in verse 14: “Let all your things be done with charity.”

“Quit you like men” sounds strange today. In the English of 1611 to quit yourself meant to conduct yourself, so the phrase means act like grown men, with courage and maturity. Modern translations often render it “act like men” or “be courageous”. It is addressed to a whole congregation, women and men alike, who were divided and easily swayed.

The watchman is an old biblical picture. God tells Ezekiel he has made him a watchman unto the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17), and Isaiah 62:6 speaks of watchmen set upon the walls of Jerusalem who never hold their peace day or night. Watching, in Scripture, means staying awake when others sleep.

For a confirmation or a man's room

This is Christian wall art with a masculine edge, the kind that belongs in an office, a den, a garage or a young man's bedroom. It is often chosen as a confirmation gift, a graduation present or a Father's Day gift, and pastors hang it in a study as a reminder of their own watch.

The bold lettering reads well from a distance, so the Christian poster works over a desk or at the end of a hallway. Prints are made to order in the US on thick archival matte paper, ship free within the US and arrive without a frame, with a margin of paper around the image. Sizes go from 5x7 to 24x36, plus metric and A sizes, and a digital file is offered.

The Lion of Judah resting at sunrise is carved in the same black and gold block print style. Read 1 Corinthians 16 and what it means