Show Don't Tell: Psalm 140

Instead of saying "Deliver me from evil people," taste the venom. Of David. "Rescue me, LORD, from evildoers; protect me from the violent, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day." Daily war, constant plotting. "They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips." Serpent tongue, viper venom—words as poison. "Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet. The arrogant have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path." Snares, nets, traps—hunting imagery. "I say to the LORD, 'You are my God.' Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy. Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle." Head shielded in battle. "Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD; do not let their plans succeed... May the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise." Coals falling, fire consuming, pits swallowing. "May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent." Disaster as hunter. "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence."