David showed us how a shepherd lad could become the "warrior king" and
the "sweet singer of Israel," with virtues so big that, in spite of his
enormous sins, he is described as "a man after God's own heart."

And what varied instruction we draw from the life of Moses! Hidden in
the bulrushes on the banks of the Nile by a mother who, by instinct or
by divine suggestion, previsioned a high calling for her son; found,
under Providential direction, by a daughter of Pharaoh; reared in the
environment of a palace and with the advantages of the most enlightened
court of his day; compelled to flee into the wilderness because of an
outburst of race passion; called to a great work by a Voice that
spoke to him from a bush that "burned but was not consumed"; modestly
distrusting his ability yet dauntless as the spokesman of God--dispenser
of plagues--wonder-working man! Born of an obscure family and buried in
the Land of Moab in a sepulcher which "no man knoweth," and yet between
these two humble events he rose to a higher pinnacle than any uninspired
man has ever reached--leader without comparison--lawgiver without a
peer.

He teaches many lessons that, like all truths, can be applied in every
generation in every land. Race sympathy made it possible for him to lead
his people out of bondage--no one not of their own blood could have
done it. This lesson needs to be heeded to-day. Our part in the
evangelization of the world will be done through native teachers,
educated here or in our missions, rather than directly. The reformer,
too, finds in the hardening of Pharaoh's heart the final assurance of
success; when the "fullness of time" has come and any form of bondage is
ripe for overthrow, the taskmaster's demand for "bricks without straw"
gives the final impulse and opens the way.