Saul's son, Jonathan, loved David. As soon as they met, the souls of David and Jonathan were bound together. The prince stripped himself of his clothes and made a covenant with David because, as the Bible says twice, "he loved him as his own soul" (vs. 1 and 3).
Saul's daughter, Michal, loved David (vs. 20). When this was told to Saul, it pleased the king because he thought it might lead to David's undoing. He offered her hand in marriage to David - provided that David could pay the bride-price. Saul has a weird taste in gifts, for he wanted David to provide 100 foreskins. (For the king who has everything, I guess...)
The people of Israel loved David (vs. 16). He became a leader in the army and God gave him great success. As the slayer of Goliath and a war hero, David was looked upon with much praise and respect.
God loved David. As the Bible says numerous times, "the Lord was with David" (vs. 12, 14 and 28). The favor that had formerly rested upon Saul passed to David. In its place, an evil spirit tormented Saul (vs. 10).
Saul, however, did NOT love David. Perhaps because of jealousy and envy, as he heard the crowd adoringly ascribe to David victories numbering in the tens of thousands while they credited Saul (who was the king, after all!) with only thousands (vs. 7). Maybe it was because of feeling threatened that David was engaged in intrigue for the throne (vs. 8). Whatever the case, Saul was no fan of David. He tried to kill him twice with his spear (vs. 11).
And this is just the beginning of a bitter rivalry that will last throughout the rest of Saul's days. It's a pity, too, because Saul could have loved David like everybody else. David was a genuinely good guy who was humble and did not have designs upon the throne. But Saul couldn't see that and had only his darkened heart to guide him.
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