And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
I wore this same unto you - namely, that I would not come to you then (2 Corinthians 2:1), as, if I were to come then, it would have to be "in heaviness" (causing sorrow both to him and them, owing to their impenitent state). He refers to the first letter (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:7; 1 Corinthians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 4:21; 1 Corinthians 5:2-7; 1 Corinthians 5:13).
Sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice - i:e., sorrow from their impenitence, when he ought, on the contrary, to have joy from their penitent obedience. The latter happy effect was produced by the first letter, whereas the former would have been the result, had he then visited them, as he originally proposed.
Having confidence ... that my joy is the joy of you all - trusting that you, too, would feel there was good ground for deferring my visit, with an ultimate view to our mutual joy. He says "ALL," his charity overlooking, for the moment, the small section of his detractors at Corinth (1 Corinthians 13:7).