Because for thy sake I have borne reproach. The real secret of the enmity which David provoked, both on the part of Saul, of Absalom, of Joab, and of other ungodly men, was his own piety and devotion to God's service.
Irreligious men hate those who are religions, whose conduct shames them by its contrast with their own evil courses. They revenge themselves, sometimes by scoffing at the religious observances of the pious (Psalms 69:10), sometimes by insinuating that all profession of religion is hypocrisy.
Shame hath covered my face. I have been made to feel shame at the charges which have been brought against me (see 2 Samuel 15:3; 2 Samuel 16:7, 2 Samuel 16:8).