“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Chronicles 29:11 Mean?
David offers one of the most comprehensive doxologies in Scripture: thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Thine, O LORD — the word thine (leka — to you, belonging to you) opens the verse and sets the tone: everything that follows belongs to God. The repeated possessive frames the entire doxology: not ours. Thine. Every attribute listed is God's property, not humanity's.
The greatness (gedulah — magnitude, grandeur, the quality of being immeasurably large) — God's greatness is his inherent magnitude. Not compared to anything else. Absolute. The greatness is simply his.
The power (gevurah — strength, might, the capacity to accomplish) — God's power is his ability to do whatever he wills. No limitation. No obstacle that exceeds his capacity.
The glory (tipheret — beauty, splendor, the visible magnificence that draws worship) — God's glory is the radiant display of his character. The beauty that overwhelms.
The victory (netsach — triumph, permanence, enduring success) — God's victory is his undefeated record. No loss. No setback that is not reversed. The triumph is permanent.
The majesty (hod — splendor, authority, the imposing dignity that commands reverence) — God's majesty is the weight of his presence that makes knees buckle and mouths close.
For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine — the basis: everything belongs to God. All (kol) — without exception. Heaven and earth — the totality of creation. The attributes are God's because everything is God's. The ownership is comprehensive.
Thine is the kingdom — the kingdom (mamlakah — the royal dominion, the realm of sovereign rule) belongs to God. David — the king of Israel — declares that the real kingdom is God's. The human king acknowledges the divine king. David's throne is borrowed. God's throne is original.
Thou art exalted as head above all — exalted (nasa — lifted up, elevated) as head (rosh — chief, top, first) above all (lakol — over everything). God is not first among equals. He is above all — categorically, permanently, without rival.
The context: David prays this at the temple offering for the construction of the temple (v.1-9). He has just given extravagantly — and acknowledges that everything given was God's first (v.14: all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee). The doxology is the recognition that even the generosity of giving to God is merely returning what was already his.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does the five-fold attribution (greatness, power, glory, victory, majesty) communicate about the comprehensiveness of what belongs to God?
- 2.How does David — the king — declaring 'thine is the kingdom' model the relationship between human authority and divine sovereignty?
- 3.What does verse 14 ('of thine own have we given thee') reveal about the nature of all human generosity?
- 4.What are you treating as yours that this doxology declares is God's — and what would worship look like in response?
Devotional
Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty. Five attributes. Five things that belong to God — not shared, not divided, not borrowed. Thine. The greatness is yours. The power is yours. The glory is yours. The victory is yours. The majesty is yours. Nothing on the list belongs to anyone else.
For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. All. Everything in heaven. Everything on earth. Every atom, every star, every creature, every resource, every breath. All of it — God's. The attributes are his because everything is his. The ownership is the foundation: if all things belong to God, then the greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty do too. You cannot claim what belongs to the owner of everything.
Thine is the kingdom. David — the king — says the kingdom belongs to God. The man sitting on Israel's throne declares that the real throne is God's. David's monarchy is temporary. God's kingdom is original and permanent. The human king is the steward. The divine king is the owner.
Thou art exalted as head above all. Above all. Not above most. Not above the other gods. Above all — everything, everyone, every power, every authority, every throne. The exaltation is not competitive. It is categorical: God is in a category by himself. Head above all means there is nothing above him and everything below him.
David prays this while giving generously for the temple — and then immediately acknowledges (v.14): all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. The generosity that funded the temple was not David's gift to God. It was God's gift returned. Everything you give to God was his before you had it. The doxology is the honest recognition: I own nothing. You own everything. And even my giving is returning what you lent.
What do you think is yours? Your talent? Your money? Your accomplishments? Thine, O LORD. It was all his before it was yours. And the appropriate response to holding God's property is not pride. It is worship.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty,.... That is, either God…
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness - This verse is thus paraphrased by the Targum: "Thine, O Lord, is the magnificence; for…
We have here,
I. The solemn address which David made to God upon occasion of the noble subscriptions of the princes…
The Blessing of David
11. thineis the kingdom, O LORD, andthou art exalted as head above all Render, Thine, is the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture