So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
Ver. 21. So we laboured in the work] Their fear of the enemy did not weaken them, but waken them rather to a redoubled diligence.
From the rising of the sun till the stars appeared] Time was precious; and they redeemed and improved it. The common complaint is, We want time; but the truth is, Non parum habemus temporis, sed multum perdimus. We do not so much want as waste it. The good man is perdius et pernox, night and day at his business; and his thoughts are the same with those of Rabbi Simeon, Dies brevis est, et opus multum, et operarii pigri, et paterfamilias urger, The time is short, the task large, the workmen dither, the master of the house urgent.