Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.
By addressing Saul as his lord (1 Samuel 24:8), his king (1 Samuel 24:8), and his father (1 Samuel 24:11), David expressed respect, submission, and affection. People sometimes used the term "father" to imply a covenant relationship, and David may have had that in mind here (cf. 1 Samuel 26:25). [Note: J. M. Munn-Rankin, "Diplomacy in Western Asia in the Early Second Millennium B.C.," Iraq 18 (1956):68-110.] He was Saul’s son-in-law and successor (son) under Yahweh’s covenant with Israel (cf. 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 20:16; 1 Samuel 20:42; 1 Samuel 23:18; 2 Samuel 9:1).