Translate as: And it came to pass, while the war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted, that Abner assisted the house of Saul…

Abner made himself strong. —It has already been noticed that the fortunes of the house of Saul depended entirely upon Abner, but the fact …

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of
Saul and the house of David<…

The length of this war tried the faith and patience of David, and made his settlement at last the more welcome. The contest between grace and corru…