Shall sing for joy of heart - They who serve me shall have abundant occasion of rejoicing. But ye - shall howl. You shall shriek under the anguish and distress that shall come upon you.

For vexation of spirit - Margin, as in Hebrew, 'Breaking.' That is, your spirit shall be broken and crushed under the weight of the calamities that shall come upon you.

Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart,.... The songs of electing, redeeming, and calling grace, with which they come to Zion now, and will hereafter; having their hearts filled with joy unutterable, and full of glory, under a sense of the great things which God has done for them:

but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit; under the sore judgments of God upon them, the sword and famine; more especially during the siege of Jerusalem, and when wrath came upon them to the uttermost, in the destruction of their city, temple, and nation, and they fell into the hands of the Romans, who carried them captive, and dispersed them in various places; and as the wicked will in hell to all eternity, where is nothing but weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

vexation: Heb. breaking

14. howl-(Isa 15:2; Mt 8:12).

65:11-16 Here the different states of the godly and wicked, of the Jews who believed, and of those who persisted in unbelief, are set against one another. They prepared a table for that troop of deities which the heathen worship, and poured out drink-offerings to that countless number. Their worshippers spared no cost to honour them, which should shame the worshippers of the true God. See the malignity of sin; it is doing by choice what we know will displease God. In every age and nation, the Lord leaves those who persist in doing evil, and despise the call of the gospel. God's servants shall have the bread of life, and shall want nothing good for them. But those who forsake the Lord, shall be ashamed of vain confidence in their own righteousness, and the hopes they built thereon. Wordly people bless themselves in the abundance of this world's goods; but God's servants bless themselves in him. He is their strength and portion. They shall honour him as the God of truth. And it was promised that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed. They shall think themselves happy in having him for their God, who made them forget their troubles.