Psalm 78:36 describes a people who speak praise to God while their hearts are somewhere else. Their words sound devout, but they are not honest, and the psalmist names this as a kind of lying directed at the Lord. The verse is spoken by the psalmist, Asaph’s tradition, as he recounts Israel’s history in the wilderness to a community that needs to learn from it.
But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
Psalm 78:36 (WEB)
What Psalm 78:36 Means
The verse begins with “flattered,” a word for speaking smooth, pleasing things to get a result. When the people were in trouble, they turned to God with warm words and promises of loyalty, much as a person might compliment someone whose favor they want. The flattery was aimed at winning God over rather than truly turning to him.
The second clause names the deeper problem. “Lied” here means their speech did not match their inner commitment. Their tongues said one thing while their hearts held something else, which the psalm will go on to describe directly in the next verse. The verse does not promise that God will overlook insincere worship. It exposes it, and it warns that words offered without a faithful heart are empty before God.
What the verse does not say is that every prayer is insincere or that God rejects anyone who struggles to mean what they say. The psalm is describing a specific pattern: returning to God only when pressed, then drifting back. Its concern is the gap between speech and loyalty, not the imperfection of honest, feeble prayer.
The Context of Psalm 78:36
Psalm 78 is a long historical poem, a “maskil” or instructive psalm, traditionally attributed to Asaph. It retells Israel’s story from the Exodus through the reign of David, showing repeated cycles of rescue, rebellion and divine patience. The intended audience is the next generation, who are being taught not to repeat their ancestors’ failures.
Just before the verse, the psalm says that when God struck the people, they “inquired after him” and “sought God earnestly.” Just after, it says God was merciful, forgave iniquity and held back his anger, remembering that they were only flesh. Read in that frame, the flattery in verse 36 is the reason the cycle keeps turning. God’s mercy is real, but it is not a reward for empty words, and the psalm wants the reader to see the pattern clearly.
Key Phrases in Psalm 78:36
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
(WEB)
David’s psalm of repentance answers the problem of hollow worship by insisting that God desires a broken and contrite heart. Where Psalm 78:36 exposes the lie, Psalm 51:17 offers the honest posture God welcomes.
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught…
(WEB)
Isaiah rebukes a people who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from him. The prophet’s words echo the psalm’s concern and show that this pattern of divided worship was a long-standing problem in Israel.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 78:36
Lord, you see what I say and what I actually carry inside. Search my heart where my words have run ahead of my faithfulness, and forgive the prayers I have offered without meaning them. Give me a heart that matches my speech, and make my worship honest rather than polished. Where I have drifted back after asking for help, draw me back again with patience and truth. I trust your mercy more than my own performance. Amen.
