"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works." (Psalm 73:28).

Danielo said that he prayed earnestly for this wedding day and came across this psalm and especially this last verse. He has decided to serve the Lord his whole life and that this verse might characterise his life.

In verse 22 we read, "I was as a beast before You"; Danilo said that this verse described his state before he met with the Lord and He changed his life totally, even his old sinful nature. Now it's a joy to serve the Lord and testify of it and that the Lord is his hope, joy and refuge even in the future.

The psalmist, Asaph, says how good it is to be near God and that is why God is his refuge.

1) Psalm 73 describes the life of a person who was blinded by the world but regained his sight by God's grace and turned again to the right way.

So Asaph makes God his refuge. Blessed is the one who makes God his refuge.

2) Asaph confesses that the true Israel of God, the true children of God, are those with a clean heart.

Those are also the only ones that will enter heaven and see the Lord. They are the ones cleansed by the Precious Blood of the Lamb.

His Blood was not ordinary human blood. Human blood cannot wash away our sins.

3) What caused the battle in Asaph's heart? He had looked at the godless people, and it seemed to him that they had found peace, joy and good fortune. He took his eyes off the heavenly treasures and looked upon the worldly treasures. This nearly led to his downfall.

It is crucial that we look in the right direction to get direction for our spiritual life.

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18).

That's why Moses could forsake all the riches of Egypt and did not even fear the wrath of the king; for he looked as one seeing the invisible.

4) Asaph esteemed superficial things so much that he said, "it is vain to keep my heart clean".

We are in grave danger when we forsake God's presence. That is the beginning of our downfall.

Eventually Asaph realised how full of deceit his own heart is, if he doesn't abide in God's holy presence.

God's holy presence is not a place or building but God Himself. We must abide in Him, in His presence.

5) Many marriages start off well but get destroyed because along the way, because they start to look in another direction, at the world. That is the beginning of the fall.

Many Christians do themselves much harm by not staying in God's presence but looking in another direction. They start to take their cue from the world. They are influenced by the world and eventually totally bewitched by it.

6) Asaph was aware of his weakness, therefore he cried out, "it is good for me to be near God."

That's the key to a blessed marriage. To be near God. To be in the immediate presence of God.

The Bible says "to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God".

The devil will have no pity for you when things go wrong, but breaks and destroys. God builds and gives life.

7) The future will show what a marriage was built on; and that applies to everything, not just in marriage.

It doesn't take long and it will be revealed on what you built - many a time even in this life.

Judgement Day, however, will reveal everything; nothing will be hidden, even those things that didn't come to light in this life.