The Handwriting on the Wall

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!

’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!

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!

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!