not away from thee the gift of God, and let thy subservience (or submission) to the same stand firm; but it is right to know that certain brethren have not as yet attained to meditation of this kind. They have thought that these words were spoken for every man and for men of every kind of capacity, and although their minds have been illumined somewhat by the Psalms and prayers, they have relaxed the fulfilment of the canon of their service, wherein are placed their consolation, and their wages, and their profit, and have occupied themselves [with the meditation], but on several occasions they have been interrupted in the meditation which hath come to them by the devils. It is, therefore, not right for the brethren who are beginners in the ascetic life to do this, but they should commit their life and works and meditation wholly to God, and if it should happen that this meditation cometh to them, let them reveal the matter to one of the old men who is acquainted with such things, so that the demons may not lead them astray and work their destruction.”
637. The brethren said, “By what means did the Fathers sing the Psalms of the Holy Spirit without wandering [of mind]?” The old man said, “First of all they accustomed themselves whensoever they stood up to sing the service in their cells to labour with great care to collect their minds from wandering, and to understand the meaning of the Psalms, and they took care never to let one word (or verse) escape them without their knowing the meaning thereof, not as a mere matter of history, like the interpreters, and not after the manner of the translator, like Basil and John [Chrysostom], but spiritually, according to the interpretation of the Fathers, that is to say, they applied all the Psalms to their own lives and works, and to their passions, and to their spiritual life, and to the wars which the devils waged against them. Each man did thus according to his capacity, whether he was engaged in a rule of life for the training of the body, or of the soul, or of the spirit, even as it is written, ‘Blessed are the people who know Thy praises, O Lord,’ that is to say, blessed is the monk who, whilst glorifying Thee with praise, collecteth his mind from wandering, and understandeth clearly the knowledge and meaning of the Psalms of the spirit, even as it is written, ‘Sing ye unto God with praise, sing ye unto our King.’ When then a man singeth the service in this manner, and payeth attention to the meaning of the verse, he acquireth daily the faculty of singing a song mingled with the meditation of God and with the gaze [which is fixed] upon Him. And after the time in which he hath arrived at the spiritual rule of life, immediately a monk
