Show Don't Tell: Psalm 109

Instead of saying "David prayed against his accusers," let the curses pile up. A psalm of David. "My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship." Friendship returned with hatred. Then the extended curse—some say David quotes his enemies, others say David speaks: "Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership." Peter quotes this regarding Judas. "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes." Generational consequences. "May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation." Name erasure. "For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted." The reason for the curse—no kindness to vulnerable. "He loved to pronounce a curse—may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing—may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil." Curse as clothing, absorbed into bones. Then David's plea: "Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love... With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them."