Psalm 78:37 describes a people whose inner life did not match their outward worship. The verse says their hearts were not right with God and that they were not faithful to the covenant he had made with them. The psalm is attributed to Asaph, a worship leader in Israel, and it recounts the history of Israel’s disobedience so that the next generation would not repeat it. Asaph speaks to the community as a teacher reviewing the past.
For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant.
Psalm 78:37 (WEB)
What Psalm 78:37 Means
The phrase “their heart was not right with him” points to the inner life of a person, not only their actions. In Hebrew thought the heart was the center of will, desire and thought. To say the heart was not right means the people’s deepest loyalties were pointed somewhere other than God. Their words might have sounded devout, but what they wanted most was elsewhere.
The second half, “neither were they faithful in his covenant,” shows what that inner division produced. A covenant is a binding relationship, and faithfulness means keeping the promises that come with it. The verse links the heart to behavior: a divided heart eventually shows up as broken commitments.
The verse does not promise that people are beyond change. It is a diagnosis that sits in the middle of a larger story. The verses right after it show God’s mercy toward these same people, so the verse describes the problem that mercy would have to meet.
The Context of Psalm 78:37
Psalm 78 is a long historical psalm, a teaching poem that retells the story of Israel from the exodus through the reign of David. It is part of the wisdom and instructional tradition in the Psalter, meant to be taught to children so they would trust God and not forget his deeds. The audience is the community of Israel, and the psalm’s purpose is partly warning and partly hope.
Just before verse 37, the people are described turning back to God after God had killed some of them, yet they flattered him with their mouths and lied with their tongues. Verse 37 explains why that turning was shallow. Just after it, verse 38 shows God being merciful, forgiving iniquity and turning away his anger. Read in that setting, the verse is not the last word about Israel. It sets up the contrast between human unfaithfulness and God’s steady compassion.
Key Phrases in Psalm 78:37
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
(WEB)
This verse is David’s prayer for a clean heart and a steadfast spirit after his failure. It answers the problem Psalm 78:37 describes: a heart out of alignment needs God to do the work of renewing it, not just a resolution to try harder.
Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with their whole heart.
(WEB)
In this promise God says he will give his people a heart to know him and return to him wholeheartedly. It shows the other side of the story, where the heart that Psalm 78:37 describes as divided is made whole by God’s own initiative and grace.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 78:37
Lord, you see what my heart is really leaning toward, even when my words sound faithful. I confess the places where I want other things more than I want you, and the promises I have made to you that I have quietly let slip. Turn my heart toward you again, and give me the steady loyalty that keeps faith when no one is watching. Thank you that you are merciful and do not give up on people like me. Amen.
