Yesterday I mentioned that Belshazzar's feast, with its famous indictment "You have been weighed and found wanting," used to have a prized place in our cultural consciousness.
As evidence of this, one of Johnny Cash's very first gospel songs, recorded in 1957, was "Belshazzar." It's one of my favorites. Prophetic and timely.
Well the Bible tells us about a man
who ruled Babylon and all its land
around the city he build a wall
and declared that Babylon would never fall
he had concubines and wives
he called his Babylon 'paradise'
on his throne, he drank and ate
but for Belshazzar it was getting late
for he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
his kingdom was divided, couldn't stand
he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
his houses were built upon the sand
well, the people feasted and drank their wine
and praised the false gods of his time
all holy things they scorned and mocked
but suddenly all their mocking stopped
for on the wall there appeared a hand
nothing else, there was no man
in blood the hand began to write
and Belshazzar couldn't hide his fright
for he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
his kingdom was divided, couldn't stand
he was weighed in the balance and found wanting
his houses were built upon the sand
well, no one around could understand
what was written by the mystic hand
Belshazzar tried but couldn't find
a man who could give him peace of mind
but Daniel, the prophet, a man of God
he saw the writing on the wall in blood
Belshazzar asked him what it said
and Daniel turned to the wall and read
"My friend you're weighed in the balance and found wanting
your kingdom is divided, it can't stand
you're weighed in the balance and found wanting
your houses are built upon the sand."
