yarrr, ye scurvy boy-king, halt ye whinin'

David, who wrote so many of the psalms, has given the reader an insight into the rich and varied experiences of his life with God, to the extent that no other writer has. Anyone familiar with David's life cannot fail to be struck with this fact.

He was, at different times in his life, a humble shepherd boy, a servant in the king's palace, a successful warrior, a fugitive, a great king, an exile, an old man. He was sometimes poor and sometimes rich, sometimes hated and sometimes beloved, sometimes persecuted and sometimes honoured, sometimes obscure and sometimes prominent, sometimes profligate and sometimes penitent, sometimes sad and sometimes joyful.

But in all these changing circumstances, David talked to God, pouring forth his heart, his thoughts, his feelings to his Maker. David's utterances to God at these times are recorded in the psalms, and, as the psalms are inspired by the Holy Spirit, they show us what kind of talking to God and what kind of heart attitude is acceptable to Him when we, too, pass through similar experiences.

from Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament