Scripture Verse

The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Daniel 5:5

Introduction

Words & Mu­sic: Knowles Shaw, in The Morn­ing Star (Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio: Cen­tral Book Con­cern, 1877). Ar­ranged by Ira D. San­key (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Knowles Shaw (1834–1878)

Lyrics

illustration
Belshazzar Sees the Writing on the Wall
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)

At the feast of Bel­shaz­zar
And a thou­sand of his lords,
While they drank from gold­en ves­sels,
As the Book of Truth re­cords,
In the night, as they re­veled
In the roy­al pa­lace hall,
They were seized with con­ster­na­tion—
’Twas the hand up­on the wall!

Refrain

’Tis the hand of God on the wall!
’Tis the hand of God on the wall!
Shall the re­cord be Found want­ing!
Or shall it be Found trust­ing!
While that hand is writ­ing on the wall?

See the brave cap­tive, Da­ni­el,
As he stood be­fore the throng,
And re­buked the haugh­ty mon­arch
For his migh­ty deeds of wrong;
As he read out the writ­ing—
’Twas the doom of one and all,
For the king­dom now was fin­ished—
Said the hand up­on the wall!

Refrain

See the faith, zeal and cour­age,
That would dare to do the right,
Which the Spir­it gave to Da­ni­el—
’Twas the sec­ret of his might,
In his home in Ju­dea,
Or a cap­tive in the hall,
He un­der­stood the writ­ing
Of his God up­on the wall!

Refrain

So our deeds are re­cord­ed—
There’s a hand that’s writ­ing now:
Sinner, give your heart to Je­sus,
To His roy­al man­dates bow;
For the day is ap­proach­ing—
It must come to one and all,
When the sin­ners’ con­dem­na­tion
Will be writ­ten on the wall!

Refrain

Poem

Belshazzar’s Feast

In royal splendor sat the King
His courtiers before;
In festive merriment they sing
Round him, the conqueror;
Till bacchanalian echoes ring
Through court and corridor.

Chaldea’s bravest men are up
To wait his royal pleasure!
Each lifts above a golden cup
In merry, maudlin measure,
And dares in sacrilege to sup
From Judah’s stolen treasure.

And now upon their gods they call
Their favor loud inviting;
When lo! the glare of burnished hall
The mystic letters lighting,
Belshazzar sees upon the wall
A phantom finger writing!

The heathen monarch quakes with fear!
He feels the fatal warning:
He sees the finger disappear;
Then to his vassals turning:
Bring quickly here the wisest seer
In oriental learning.

In vain Chaldea heeds the call—
The sages of the nation!
Alike to magi, king, and all
Who seek an explanation,
The vivid letters on the wall
Defy interpretation!

And now a queenly voice is heard
Before the banquet table:
Now trouble not, my king and lords,
For there is one full able
To read and tell to thee these words,
O mighty king of Babel!

A youthful captive in the land
Forthwith the princes summon,
Who, while before him trembling stand
His God’s and Judah’s foemen,
Unfolds the writing of the hand,
And tells the fearful omen!

O mighty king, Belshazzar, heed!
This the interpretation:
This night the Persian and the Mede
Divide thy father’s nation;
For thou art in the balance weighed,
And this thy condemnation!

Next morning’s sun arose and shone
On Babylon’s faded glory!
Her haughty princes stood alone,
Their monarch dead and gory—
A Persian sat upon the throne
To tell the captor’s story!

Salathiel C. Kirk
Musings Along the Way, 1900