Christmas Truth: "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" Part 2

This is the second part of a meditation on the stanzas of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."  If you want to read the first part, you can do that here.  I am looking particularly at the theology found in the song.  I consider it to be the most theological of all the Christmas songs I know.  We saw last time that the first stanza makes the following declarations about Jesus: He is the almighty King worshipped by angelic servants.  He is the one who will bring peace and mercy as he paves the way for the reconciliation of God and man.  He has come for everyone on the earth.  He is the Messiah and his birth fulfills prophecy.  Let's now see what the second stanza proclaims about the Messiah.

Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord
This refers back to stanza one where Jesus is also worshipped by angels.  But why is he worshipped?  The second half of the line explains--He's the everlasting Lord.  The king and Messiah of the first stanza is now declared to be something even greater--the Lord himself.  He's not just a king that lasts for a day; he's the everlasting Lord.  Thus, he is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.  He is God himself.

Late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin's womb
Late in time does not mean that Jesus was late or should have shown up earlier.  The phrase means here that a long time elapsed from his promised coming to the time he arrived.  He was promised as early as Genesis 3.  The earth has waited in anticipation for a long time.  When he arrives, this Lord adored by angels is conceived in the womb of a virgin.  This is both a fulfillment of prophecy and a hint the reason for why he was to come.  He had to be born a man to complete the mission ahead of him.  (In Genesis 3:15, we see a promise that an offspring will come of woman that will crush the serpent, so this line also bridges the gap between Genesis and the gospels, that the time has elapsed to the promise's fulfillment when the offspring is formed in a woman's womb).

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity
This line gives me chills.  Jesus' flesh is a covering for the Trinity (yes, this song declares the Trinity!).  We are staring right at the Trinity when we see Jesus for he exists one with his father and the Spirit at all times.  As he is the God, the Trinity, we are called to hail him just like the angels, to hail God incarnated in flesh.

Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel
Jesus is not forced to come.  He has not been pushed or manipulated or tricked.  He is pleased to dwell with man.  He has a reason to come and he loves man enough to come, to forsake the worship of angels above and live as a human being.  He will know our temptations and trials and pains.  He will walk among us so that he can love us and show us the better way.  He will draw us close with physical arms.  He will be with us, the meaning of Emmanuel.  In fact, through the gospel he teaches us he will never leave us or forsake us.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, 

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:14