A Prayer of Anticipation: Psalm 87

A Prayer of Anticipation 

Psalm 87

For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:14 NASBS

Phil Wickham recently released a new song Hymn of Heaven which is a beautiful song about the believer’s anticipation of our eternal home. The lyrics begin like this:

How I long to breathe the air of Heaven
Where pain is gone and mercy fills the streets
To look upon the One who bled to save me
And walk with Him for all eternity

For the believer there should be great anticipation for the day we behold our Savior face to face. There ought to be a great longing and seeking that “city which is to come.” The bliss of that moment when we step into eternity will outweigh all the sorrow of all the days we spent here. 

Scripture is not silent about the superiority of “the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22). Thinking on some of the glorious gains awaiting us will strengthen our hearts and increase our joy and longing for that day when our faith will be made sight. What do we gain? Here are a few:
  • We gain an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison produced for us by our earthly afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:17)
  • Right now we see in a mirror dimly, then we shall see face to face; now we know in part, then we shall know fully just as we have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).
  • We gain an imperishable body instead of a perishable one, exchanging dishonor for glory, weakness for power, a natural body for a spiritual body, mortality for immortality (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 53).
  • We gain the final victory that is ours in Christ over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
  • Our earthly bodies are conformed to His glorious body (Philippians 3:21).
  • We will be with the Lord always (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
  • We obtain our salvation and live together with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:10).
  • We gain an unshakeable kingdom (Hebrews 12:28).
  • God will dwell among us, and we shall be His people, and He Himself will be among us (Revelation 21:3)
  • Every tear will be wiped away from our eyes, there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain! (Revelation 21:4)
  • All things will be made new by our God (Revelation 21:5).
This is a short list of the glories that await us as God’s chosen and beloved children. In Psalm 87, the psalmist talks about the city of God and how “glorious things of you are spoken” (87:3). And while the Israelites loved their holy city, Jerusalem, this psalm has overtones that speak of the greater Jerusalem. We have the hope and joy of anticipating “the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Revelation 21:10-11). Let’s pray for increased longing, preparing, and seeking for this city which is to come, where we shall finally behold our Savior face to face. 

87:1-7 On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”
Let’s pray:
▫️Our hearts would not be satisfied with this world which will not last, but we would seek that city which is to come, the eternal city where our Savior dwells. 
▫️We would not store up for ourselves treasures here on earth, but we would store up for ourselves treasure in heaven, knowing that where our treasure is there our heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).
▫️We would have a deep longing and anticipation for the return of Christ, and our desire would be, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
▫️We would rejoice that all our earthly afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, and knowing that, we would persevere with joy looking for the blessed appearing of our Lord (2 Corinthians 4:17).
▫️We would eagerly anticipate that day when we will no longer see in a mirror dimly, but we will see our God face to face, and we will know fully. Right now we would trust Him, even though we do not yet understand all His ways, because we know a day is coming when all will be made known.
▫️When we experience the ramifications of the curse, it would increase our desire to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. We would long for the exchange of our weak bodies for strong, glorious bodies, the exchange of mourning for gladness, the exchange of weeping for a time where all tears shall be wiped away, the exchange of the presence of sin with the final victory over sin.
▫️We would have hope, even when faced with death, that because our Savior lives, our loved ones and we who belong to Christ shall live again.
▫️Our hearts would long for that day when we shall be with the Lord always, and He shall live among us and we will join with every tribe and tongue and nation in the worship of our King.


May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 


Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All right reserved.


Photo credit to wandervisions

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