Daniel 5

The hand is sent from his presence, and the writing is inscribed. Wesley: from him—from that God whom thou hast despised.

The writing on the wall is a summons from the God whose temple vessels the court had just profaned. On the Arminian reading, even this late hour carried a call to humble himself; Belshazzar did not, and the refusal was his own.

Calvin: then—thou canst not complain of the swiftness of the penalty, as if God had exacted it before the time. God has hitherto borne with thee; after this forbearance he drags thee to punishment. This hand is a witness to the wrath of heaven, sent from his presence.

The numbered-weighed-divided sentence is already moving. Forbearance was not in doubt; it is now spent. The Most High rules; the hand is not a debate. It is a verdict arriving.

This is the writing: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. Wesley writes no note on this verse; on the next he will say the words are doubled for the greater confirmation.

Four words, public, once God gives the reader. A last call does not have to be long. The Most High speaks so the king can still hear; pride is what will not listen. The interpretation will be true whether the court likes it or not.

Calvin: Daniel recites the four words. The king could not read them, either through stupor or because God blunted his senses and blinded his eyes; the magi were rendered blind. The prophecy was allegorical until an interpreter was divinely ordained.

God can address one man and hide the line from a room of wise men. The writing is already the sentence; Daniel will not soften it. Common ground: the Most High wrote it.

Mene: God has numbered the days of the kingdom and brought it to an end. Wesley: MENE MENE, it is numbered, it is numbered; the words are doubled for the greater confirmation. It relates to the number of the seventy years for the overthrow of the Babylonish empire.

The sentence is read while Belshazzar still sits at his own feast. Nebuchadnezzar had bowed to the Most High who numbers kingdoms (4:34–37); his heir knew that story and would not humble himself (5:22). Both traditions agree that God has counted the kingdom and the word stands.

Calvin: God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Not a moment of time can be added to the boundary already determined. God has prescribed a certain time for all kingdoms. Kings live and die according to God’s pleasure; empires are changed at his time.

Pastorally: brought it to an end is not a rumor. The sentence is already executed in heaven and about to land. Wesley reads it the same way: God numbered. Calvin presses: not a moment can be added. God deposes when he will.

Tekel: weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. Wesley: there is no weight nor worth in thee; thou hast made light of God, and the Lord makes light of thee.

Wesley’s pun carries the verse: the king made light of God, and God makes light of him. On the Arminian reading, the verdict lands on a man who had been warned by his father’s story and chose the temple cups instead. Both sides hear the same judgment: pride is weighed by the Most High and found wanting.

Calvin: thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting. God so moderates his judgments as if carrying a balance; he does nothing with confusion, but uses moderation. Thou art found a man of no consequence. God did not make haste to inflict punishment; he exacted it with justice.

The weighing is purely judicial. The scale has already spoken; found wanting is not an invitation to re-weigh. The Most High rules; the sentence is already executed in his court.

Peres: the kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Wesley: PERES—separated, divided, broken. Phars signifies two things, broken off, and Persian: this kingdom was broken down from Belshazzar and given to the Persians.

In practice: the gift of the kingdom to another is announced before the night is over. The Most High still speaks so the king can hear. He might have humbled himself under a true word; he would not. God divides and gives.

Calvin: God signified the dispersion of the monarchy which was at hand. The kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Empires are bestowed by divine power and not by chance; God deposes at his time.

Pastorally: divided is not a maybe. The sentence is already dated. Wesley reads it the same way: broken off from Belshazzar and given to the Persians. The Most High sets up whom he will.

Belshazzar commands: purple, and put a chain of gold, third ruler. Wesley writes no note on this verse. He has already said the Lord makes light of thee.

Belshazzar keeps his word and honors Daniel, but he does not humble himself before the God who wrote on the wall. Gifts cannot buy a longer kingdom, and the interpretation stands whether or not the chain stays on Daniel’s neck.

Calvin: this order may excite surprise. He is desirous of appearing careless and undisturbed; hidden pride is not corrected. God had already deprived him of his royal dignity, yet he still wishes to raise others on high. The end of his reign was close, yet in security he offers this dignity.

For the hearer: terror without repentance still hires rank. The sentence is already executed; purple cannot lengthen a numbered kingdom. On this both agree: the word is true; the gifts are late.

That night Belshazzar the Chaldean King is killed. Wesley writes no note on this verse; on the next he names Darius with Cyrus taking Babylon.

The word came true that night. The last call was meant seriously; he would not humble himself, and the hour closed. This is not a slogan about enemies; it is the Most High judging pride when the proud will not stoop.

Calvin: Daniel shortly relates how his prophecy was fulfilled that very night. Belshazzar was seized in his own banqueting-room, grossly intoxicated, with his nobles and concubines. The sentence of God did not depend upon the will of a single heathen.

God deposes at his time. The numbered-weighed-divided word did not wait for morning. Shared with the other camp: the interpretation is true and immediate. The Most High rules.

Darius the Mede receives the kingdom, about sixty-two years old. Wesley: this was he that with Cyrus besieged and took Babylon.

The Most High sets up whom he will. A new name on the throne does not empty the lesson: pride is judged, and the word comes true. Shared confession, not a chart: God numbered, weighed, divided, and the night kept the appointment.

Calvin: the kingdom was transferred to the king of the Medes, whom he calls Darius. Babylon was taken under the auspices of Cyrus; Darius obtained the royal authority, and under this name he reigned over the Chaldeans. God takes care of his own—Daniel, clad in purple, covered by the shadow of God’s hand.

God deposes and gives the kingdom at his time. About sixty-two is not a riddle to decode a later age; it is the hour God appointed. The Most High rules the kingdom of mankind.