Psalm 103 Please read the whole Psalm:
Praise the LORD,my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD,my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
My wife recently read this psalm to an elderly lady suffering from dementia. It moved her to tears, because of its beauty and application to her situation. The whole psalm is one of the most assuring and lovely things you will ever read. Why not take some time today, just to sit down and read, meditate and be thankful? It’s the best medicine you could get!
“Ah, what a life is the life of a Christian! Christ all for you, and you all for him!” (Flavell)
Petition: Please join with us in praying for:
1.The World – The number of confirmed cases is 166,767,496 (+ 3,406,948; -a drop of 12%). The number of deaths of people with Covid 3,537,779 (up 81,104; – 1%) The number of cases in India is declining. There is growth however in Argentina, Columbia, Chile, South Africa, and Indonesia with concern that a new variant has been discovered in Vietnam.
2. Australia – There have been 30,098 cases in total (up 87 compared with 36 the week before).
| State | Total Cases | Weekly Change TW/LW | Total Deaths | Change in Deaths TW/LW |
| ACT | 124 | 0 (+0) | 3 | 0 |
| NSW | 5,585 | + 28 (+12) | 54 | 0 |
| NT | 173 | +2 (+2) | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | 1,601 | +17 (+12) | 7 | 0 |
| SA | 754 | +6 (+6) | 4 | 0 |
| TAS | 234 | + 0 (0) | 13 | 0 |
| VIC | 20,593 | +47 (+3) | 820 | 0 |
| WA | 1,017 | +1 (+1) | 9 | 0 |
The big concern is Melbourne which is again in lockdown after 47 locally acquired cases to date. There are 19 people in hospital (+1) with 1 in ICU (+0). There were 462,057 tests with 0.2% positive. There are 102 active cases (+20).
3. Vaccine and Cures – There have been 1.84 billion vaccine doses (+201 million). In Australia the number is rapidly increasing with over 4 million doses now given. In Papua New Guinea there have only been 11,000 doses. The UK now has 95 out of 100 vaccinated.
4. Church – There has been a lot of positive press (for a change!) for the appointment of Kanishka Rafael as the new Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. As the son of a Sri Lankan immigrant mother, he ticks a lot of ‘secular’ cultural boxes. Give thanks for his faithfulness to the Lord and pray that he would be used to influence and encourage all the Lord’s people.
5. Personal and Family – Pray for parents who are discouraged and disheartened when their children turn away from the faith, they were brought up in. Pray for restoration and renewal.
A Prayer of Repentance: “Keep, we beseech you, O Lord, your Church with your perpetual mercy: and because the frailty of man without you cannot but fall, keep us ever by your help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (Book of Common Prayer).
Song: Watch ten thousand worshippers sing this triumphant resurrection song in the Cairo Cave Church. Originally recorded at the 13.11.12 night of prayer, this was recently watched by 1.6 million people on SAT-7 ARABIC’s Facebook page.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul. (Psalm 103:19-22)
Covid Prayer Guide – Psalm 102, Flavel, Matt and Matt, Information and Prayers
Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord .
I look forward to your ‘missives’ and read them eagerly. Thank you.
Many thanks, David. Helpful, as always. The worship song from the Cairo Cave Church is really moving, and so encouraging!
For those who enjoy ‘Grantchester’ , the puritanical housekeeper , Mrs C ,may be a well – loved character .
When challenged by a reference to the Psalms , she replied in an antique Oxfordshire accent : “There’s a lot of nonsense in the Psalms”.
The writer of the original novels was , as we all know, a son of the Scots – descended Archbishop of Canterbury , Robert Runcie .
Archbishop Runcie , served in the Scots Guards in WW II . During an interview which touched on animal vivisection , the Lord Archbishop pleaded ignorance by admitting , ” I’ve only killed people , I’m afraid.”