Show Don't Tell: Psalm 55

Instead of saying "David wished he could escape betrayal," feel the wings grow. "Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger." Troubled thoughts, distraught mind. "My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me." Anguish, terror, fear, trembling, horror—the full catalog of distress. Then the escape fantasy: "I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.'" Dove wings, desert refuge. But the deepest wound: "If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers." Not a stranger—a friend. They worshiped together. "His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords." Butter-smooth swords. "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken."