AT THE FEAST OF BELSHAZZAR

At the feast of Belshazzar
God wrote on the wall,
"Thou art found wanting
And due for a fall.
Thy kingdom's divided
And is taken away.
To the Medes and the Persians
I will give it this day."

The king started to tremble,
His bony knees smote,
As he pondered the message
That the hand of God wrote.
He called his magicians,
His astrologers, too,
And commanded them to read it,
But not one could do.

So he called for old Daniel,
The great prophet of God,
And showed him the writing
On the wall's stone facade.
He promised him riches
And fortune and fame
If he would read the message
Which by the hand of God came.

"I cannot do it,"
Was old Daniel's reply,
"But there's a God up in heaven
Much wiser than I
Who'll show me the meaning
Of those words written there."
He spent the next several hours
On his knees, in deep prayer.

And God showed him the meaning
Of those words on the wall
Of Belshazzar's fine palace,
In the great banquet hall.
And when he had read them
To Belshazzar the king,
He was clothed in fine raiment
And given the ring

That made him prime minister,
Second only in power
To Belshazzar himself
If but for an hour,
For in that very night,
Up the dry river bed
Came the Medes and the Persians,
As the writing had said.

And Belshazzar's whole kingdom
Changed hands on that night,
Surrendered in total
Without even a fight
To Cyrus of Persia
And Darius the Mede,
As foretold in the writing
Which Daniel did read.

a. franklin staples


September 29, 1994

Copyright © 1994 by A. Franklin Staples