1 Samuel 26:24
And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.
The words were spoken while David was living as a fugitive from Saul, in the period immediately after Abiathar son of Ahimelech escaped Saul's slaughter of the Lord's priests and fled to David for refuge. Abiathar was the lone survivor of that priestly massacre, and David received him with a promise of safeguard. The ground of that promise was that the same enemy who sought Abiathar's life was also seeking David's own life, so the two would remain together under David's protection.
In the verse David prays that the Lord would set a high value on his life and preserve it, in the same measure as he himself had that day set a high value on Saul's life and spared it. The plea makes his own merciful dealing with Saul the pattern for the mercy he asks from God. Yet that kindness toward Saul did not move David to place confidence in Saul's promises of reform. Nor did it lead him to surrender himself into the king's power, for he remained wary and kept his distance despite the reconciliation of the moment.