John Mark Hicks

In this video, Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks discuss the context, meaning, and significance of Psalm 2. For more on Psalm 2, see this link.

Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks on Psalm 1 This episode begins a new series led by Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks. This series is dedicated to understanding and practicing the Psalms. Each week they will discuss a particular Psalm. In this first week, they discuss Psalm 1, which introduces the whole Psalter itself. […]

We live in a chilling moment. Children are dying. War has no end in sight. Political discourse is laced with malice and vitriol. Yet, it seems to me, our time is no different than many other times in world history. There is nothing unique about the previous paragraph. This is one reason the Hebrew Bible […]

Texts: 1 Chronicles 29:29-30; Psalm 19:14 Days 20-22 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days. Every people-group has a history; they tell stories about their journey. And every people-group has a liturgy; they worship someone or something.  Israel is no different. The Torah and subsequent histories (running from Judges through Kings and Chronicles to Ezra-Nehemiah) narrates […]

Some people enjoy hearing testimonies. Others do not. As for the latter, their reasons vary.  Some testimonies appear superficial or lack discernment. Some believe testimonies are too subjective and individualistic. Some regard testimonies as private, a matter of personal interpretation rather than public proclamation. People should keep “testimonies,” according to some, to themselves, and they […]

Occasioned by the injustices of the ruling class, the community petitions God to judge their unjust judges. A worshipper speaks for the community in a kind of “cultic prophetic lament.”[1] One might imagine a Jeremiah or some priestly leader voicing this complaint at the temple as Israel’s judges gathered to worship. Jeremiah may have appeared at […]

Israel had recently experienced defeat. Though perhaps an exilic context, it probably reflects a military defeat in the pre-exilic period (e.g., the invasion of Zerah the Cushite during the reign of righteous Asa in 2 Chron 14:9-10, the invasion of the Moabites during the reign of righteous Jehoshaphat in 2 Chron 20:1, or some other […]

This psalm is a favorite for many. The first eighteen verses are some of the most intimate and lofty descriptions of the God-human relationship in the Psalter. Most find it comforting, even affirming. But then a jolt hits us when we read Psalm 139:19-22. What does that have to do with what came before it? […]

Psalm 104 is one of the great creation praise hymns of Israel. As worship, it blesses God as both creator and provider. As theology, it identifies creation in theocentric rather than anthropocentric ways. God is not only sovereign over the creation but is immanent within it. The creation is more about God than it is […]

Perhaps originally an individual lament by Heman, the Psalm became part of the repertoire of Israel’s communal worship at the temple. The faithful community sang and prayed these words. These words were not hidden in a corner, but heralded in the temple courts as the congregation of Israel worshiped God. Though they may have begun […]