Oecumenius, on Jas 5:13

“Is any of you sad? Let him pray. Is he cheerful in mind? Let him sing.”

“Is anyone among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Prayer go together with affliction, so that for the one who is afflicted, the withdraw from afflictions or temptations may be lighter. Then, when through prayer it has pleased God to remove the things that trouble us, and the soul has reached its state of peace and tranquility, let him sing psalms, so that what is beneficial may be multiplied, and it may delight in spiritual joy. Indeed, joy and gladness are the right state of the mind, according to our great Basil, for hymns or divine praises confer the grace of consolation. Therefore, whoever has not progressed in this way, nor reached such a state, which David also calls holiness: "Sing to the Lord, you His saints," (Ps. 30:4) does great nonsense, singing vainly and empty, as the proverb says.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.