Jerusalem resumes her prayer with a declaration of (1) God’s righteousness in the matter of her punishment: The Lord is in the right,
and (2) her acknowledgement of her sin: For I have rebelled against his word.
The following is noteworthy about these two declarations:
Referring back to the expression in Lamentations 1:17,
The LORD has commanded against Jacob,
Jerusalem now declares that God was righteous in the matter of her punishment. God has not punished without cause.1 The judgment is just because it has been administered by a righteous God. In connection with the next line of Lamentations 1:18,But hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering,
this is also an appeal to God to be the just judge who pays attention to Jerusalem’s suffering, although she deserved it.2In the acknowledgement of her sin, there is no thought of rebellion against the will of God. God’s righteous judgment is accepted as rightful for the sins of the nation and their continued rejection of their covenantal responsibilities.3 The confession of rebellion
against his word
can refer to Jerusalem’s rejection of the prophets sent by God as His mouthpiece.
18 “The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity.