The Rapture Force

Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

 written by Charles Wesley over 260 years ago, this carol (now somewhat altered) has become a favourite among Christians and non-Christians alike. One of this writers favorite Christmas Hymns.
I will attempt to explain this song, as it relates to Jesus birth, and our salvation.
First Hark, means to listen attentively; give heed.
So we are to stop what we are doing and listen attentively,The Angels have a message for us,Heralding angels, A herald is a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.
They are wishing us peace on earth and mercy which means, compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner. But not only mercy they wish it mild which means, not cold, severe, or extreme,amiably gentle or temperate in feeling or behavior toward others.
Ready heres the big part of this whole song,The reasons the Angels harkened us and heralded the news,God and sinners reconciled= to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: .Praise His Name,He sent us a reconciler.Joyful all ye nations rise join the triumph of the skies,yes there is triumph satan lost so much on that day.Luke 2 tells us of the Birth in Bethlehem. With Angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem.To proclaim means-to announce or declare in an official or formal manner:Glory to the Newborn King.Glory-adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving: Give glory to God.

Christ by highest heaven adored,oh yes he was adored long before he came to be man of flesh,because he is God.
Christ has been foretold since the very first book of the bible and that being Genesis.Here is a link that will show you almost  all of The Prophecies of Jesus birth ,life , and death. http://passionofchrist.com/english/preview.htm .There are many links within this particular link with tons of info.

The ever lasting Lord that means-lasting forever; eternal: everlasting future life.
Christ, the everlasting Lord. Jesus came to earth from heaven, where he enjoyed the adoration of the holy angels. And one reason why the angels adored him is because he was and is “the everlasting Lord”. He is “everlasting”, meaning that he had no beginning and has no end. He is “Lord”, meaning that he has the same name, nature and authority as the Lord God Almighty, and so is worthy of the same love, reverence and adulation.

The majesty of Jesus portrayed in the first two lines stands in marked contrast to the humility of Jesus portrayed in the next two lines: Late in time behold him come,/ Offspring of the Virgin’s womb. Jesus left heaven where he was adored by angels to come to earth where he would be despised and rejected by men. He came “late in time” in the sense that a long time elapsed between the first promise of his coming (Genesis 3:15) and the fulfilment of that promise. He came as the long-awaited Messiah (or, Christ). And the way he came was through conception and birth.

However, the songwriter alerts us to something unique about Jesus’ conception. He was the offspring not merely of a woman’s womb, but of a virgin’s womb. Jesus was not conceived through the natural process of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. Rather, “the power of the Most High overshadowed” a virgin named Mary, and she conceived Jesus miraculously (Luke 1:35).
The next two lines of the second stanza celebrate the dual nature of Jesus: Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity. Jesus is both fully man and fully God. Although his “Godhead” (his divine nature) was partly “veiled” (concealed) by his “flesh” (his human nature), it was not diminished. He was the incarnation, the embodiment, of God. Indeed, in him “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). The newborn Jesus was no ordinary baby. The songwriter urges us to “see” and “hail” his deity in his humanity.

The final two lines of the second stanza emphasise Jesus’ identification with us: Pleased as man with men to dwell,/ Jesus, our Emmanuel. Jesus became one of us so that he might live among us, sympathise fully with us and do everything necessary to save us. And he was pleased to do this! He did not come to earth grudgingly, or under compulsion. Despite the suffering that he knew awaited him, he came willingly and gladly.

The songwriter here mentions two names for the “newborn King” whom until now he has simply called “Christ”. The first name is “Jesus”, meaning “Saviour”—a name given to him shortly before his birth by an angel (Matthew 1:21). The second is “Emmanuel”, meaning “God is with us”—a name given to him seven hundred years before his birth by a prophet (Isaiah 7:14).
The first two lines of the third stanza present two more names for Jesus: Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! The title “Prince of Peace”, first used by the prophet Isaiah (9:6), highlights the power of Jesus to establish peace in the lives of his people. The title “Sun of Righteousness”, first used by the prophet Malachi (4:2), emphasises the majesty of Jesus as the one from whom the light of purity and truth shines forth.
The next two lines extend the image of Jesus as “the Son of Righteousness”: Light and life to all he brings,/ Risen with healing in his wings. Just as the sun is the source of all physical light and life, so Jesus is the source of all spiritual light and life. Further, as exposure to sunlight helps in the healing of physical wounds and mental depression, so exposure to Jesus heals the wounded soul. The next line brings us back to earth, as it were: Mild he lays his glory by. Mildly, without fuss, this Prince of Peace, this Sun of Righteousness, laid aside his glory to become a baby.

The final three lines of the carol explain why Jesus came to earth as an infant: Born that man no more may die,/ Born to raise the sons of earth,/ Born to give them second birth. Jesus was born to be our Saviour. He came to deliver us from the death we deserve because of our wrongdoing. He came as a baby to the cradle so that he could go as a man to the cross to make amends to God for our sins. He was born so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. The salvation that Jesus won for us is likened to a “second birth” because it involves a whole new life-principle, a radical change in perspective and desire. Jesus himself said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This new birth, he said, requires the miraculous intervention of the Spirit of God. And God’s Spirit intervenes to bring about this second birth whenever a person humbly believes in Jesus,and Repents.
New life and eternal life are promised to all who trust in Jesus—the Jesus who is both Man and God, the Jesus who is both Sacrifice and Saviour, the Jesus who is celebrated in this Christmas carol.