This psalm is a community lament, suited to occasions when the people of God are under the authority of liars in positions of leadership. Note the repeated theme throughout the psalm: dishonesty with the lips. What is the pain of dishonesty? Why does being lied to, or lied about, hurt so deeply? Is it not because we are being misrepresented such that others think more poorly of us than they ought? In other words, who we really are, and what others think we are, become separate realities instead of