Talking to God
The psalms are intensely personal prayers, or hymns. They were written as songs with harps and singers, and like a song the emphasis is on an emotional connection. The psalms are really like songs of praise or love songs to God (Yahweh). The author (or authors) of the psalms is quite direct about his audience, and in Psalm 5 he writes, "Lord, hear my words. Listen to what I am saying to you." The poetic term for this kind of address to someone outside the poem is apostrophe.