Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
Pentecostals tend to have a negative view of the Old Testament. Although no official
distinction between the Old - and New Testament exists, in practice the Old Testament is
regarded as less authoritative than the New Testament. This influences the way worship in the
Old Testament is regarded. Pentecostals generally view the New Testament as prescriptive
for the worship experience of the Church. This study wants to show that the Old - and New
Testament are on equal footing regarding it's authority as the inspired Word of God, also
concerning it's teaching on worship.
A second problem addressed, is the place of the lament in worship. Pentecostals tend to think
that Christians should always be positive and that God should be praised, regardless of the
situation. This leads to a denial of the fact that Pentecostals experience pain and negativity
and feelings of rage and anger in their lives. They try to hide those feelings from God, which
leads to dishonesty in their relationship with Him. Lamenting is regarded as an act of un-faith.
On the contrary, this study wants to show that lamenting is an act of bold faith.
The psalms teach that we should be completely honest in our relationship with God. We may
express all our feelings of negativity and pain and anger and fear and vengeance to God. By
doing this, we place it in the hand of a God who cares and understands, a God who transforms
us and our situations by the power of his love and grace.
Different situations in life call for different types of psalms to be used in worship. Depending
on our experience, we can praise or lament or use any of the other types of psalms we find
in the book of Psalms. This study focuses on a selection of different types of psalms to
ascertain how they can be used in the Pentecostal tradition. The following Gattungen are
• discussed: Wisdom psalms, royal psalms, liturgical psalms, psalms of trust, psalms of lament
and psalms of praise.
The results of the study have shown that the use of the psalms in Pentecostal worship falls
within the parameters of the characteristics of Pentecostal hermeneutics. The fact that they
are not being used, is contrary to Pentecostal hermeneutics. They can be used in different
ways, e.g: in the liturgy of the Church, in the prayer-life of the believer, during pastoral
counselling, prophetically and homiletically.