In Ps 86, A Prayer of David, we find four characteristics of God upon which we continually rely and for which we should be always grateful, but upon which we should never presume.  These four characteristics of God are found in Ps 86:15.

God is full of compassion.  Compassion is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.  Compassion is compounded of love and sorrow.

Compassion is like pity in Matt 18:33.  Pity is the feeling or suffering of one person, excited by the distresses of another.  Compassion moves the Lord to help us as in Matt 18:27, 9:36, 14:14.  It elicits some act of charity or benevolence on our behalf.

The Lord is full of compassion, but he extends it according to his own will, Rom 9:15.  I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  He has certainly demonstrated the fullness of his compassion on Israel Ps 78:37-39.

We have been blessed beyond measure by the compassion of the Lord for us, though we don’t deserve it.  We should beg for his compassion on those who are out of the way right now.

God is gracious.  Gracious is marked by kindness and courtesy.  God is favorable, kind, and friendly.  He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil, Lk 6:35.  In Rom 5:6-10 Christ died for ungodly sinners who were his enemies.

But we don’t want to presume upon God’s graciousness in our own lives.  Rather we want to beg for his graciousness in the lives of others who are currently unthankful and evil.

God is long-suffering.  God suffers long with us, forbearing judgment, and waiting for us to turn to righteousness.  The great example is Paul in 1 Tim 1:16, Gal 1:15-16 w/ 1 Tim 1:12-13.

But we don’t want to presume upon God’s long-suffering in our own lives.  Rather, we want to beg for his long-suffering in the lives of others who are still his enemies.

God is plenteous in mercy and truth.  Mercy and truth are a couplet.  They appear together in many places in the Bible.  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged, Prov 16:6. Truth… he will save Israel, according to his promises.  Mercy… he continues to have mercy on them according to his truth, Ps 107:43-45.

Truth… we are eternally secure in Christ.  But we don’t want to presume upon his mercy by continually returning to sin.  Rather, we want to beg for his mercy on those who, according to his truth, can still be saved.  He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, 2 Pet 3:9.

Conclusion:  These four characteristics of God have benefited us greatly.  We should pray for these same four characteristics of God to be extended to our loved ones who are not yet saved.