1 Chronicles 29:10-13 - Appended Doxology
- Chad Werkhoven
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Some of the Bible's most familiar words don't come from where you think they do.
1 Chronicles 29:10-13 (NIV)
CONTEXT: For this final week in our year long study of the Canons of Dordt, we will be reading some of the Bible's greatest doxologies - words of praise & glory given to our Sovereign God.
At this point in the Chronicles, King David, near the end of his life, has presented his son Solomon as his successor, and asked for donations to be given to enable Solomon to build God's temple. The response was overwhelmingly generous.
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, LORD,
the God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
11 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
Canons of Dordt
Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints
Article 15: Contrasting Reactions to the Teaching of Perseverance
This teaching
about the perseverance of true believers and saints,
and about their assurance of it—
a teaching which God has very richly revealed in his Word
for the glory of his name
and for the comfort of the godly
and which he impresses on the hearts of believers—
is something which
the flesh does not understand,
Satan hates,
the world ridicules,
the ignorant and the hypocrites abuse,
and the spirits of error attack.
The bride of Christ, on the other hand, has always
loved this teaching very tenderly
and defended it steadfastly as a priceless treasure;
and God,
against whom no plan can avail and no strength can prevail,
will ensure that she will continue to do this.
To this God alone,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory forever. Amen.
Summary
You know David's doxology well, even if haven't read from the Chronicles in years (or ever). You know it so well because you pray it so often; every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, we add the words for thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever before we end with the word amen. Most of the modern English Bible translations don't include this phrase with the rest of the prayer in Matthew and Luke; rather, these words were originally prayed by David here at the end of 1st Chronicles a millennia before Jesus taught us to pray (More).
The leaders of Israel had just donated a massive amount of treasure to the temple project Solomon would oversee - over 190 tons of gold, along with thousands of tons of other precious metals and materials. But notice that David's doxology isn't just a psalm of thanksgiving, rather it's an acknowledgement that everything in heaven and earth is the LORD's.
When we 'give' to the LORD, we're not really 'giving.' We're just acknowledging who our wealth really belongs to. Wealth and honor, David continues, come from you; you, God, are the ruler of all things.
Dig Deeper
It's not just financial assets that belong to the LORD. David indicates that yours, LORD, is the kingdom. We pray these words in the light of Jesus' stunning announcement that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near, so we naturally infer the 'Kingdom' we speak of at the end of the Lord's prayer refers only to this heavenly Kingdom that will fully come in the future (Matthew 4:17).
But David wouldn't have been familiar with this heavenly concept that Jesus introduced. When David originally prayed that yours, LORD, is the kingdom, he was simply admitting that the Kingdom of Israel, which David presently ruled over, actually belonged God. The LORD was the true Sovereign, not David.
So when we pray for thine is the Kingdom, we must pray these words with both applications in mind: that the Kingdom of heaven most certainly belongs to the LORD, but also that every bit of our own little kingdoms here on earth belong to Him as well. God is sovereign over all things, both the Kingdom of heaven that's near, and the kingdoms of this world; the LORD is exalted as head over all.
This final day of the year is often one in which we take stock of our lot in life, especially from a financial perspective. Some of your kingdoms are doing quite well; others not so hot. But no matter how your earthly kingdom performed in 2025, finish the year out with this liberating admission that ultimately you are head over nothing that hasn't been given to you:
In God's hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that He is sovereign over your 'kingdom' and pray that you will be a good steward of it in 2026;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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