Thee's and Thou's...

In conversation this week, someone was talking to me about the effects of losing the Second Person Singular (!) from the English Language. For those who had ( like me) to check this, the Second Person Singular goes back to all those French verbs I had to learn at school - you know, "I am, You are, He/She is, We are, You are, They are" kind of stuff. In English, we use the word "You" for both the Second person Singular AND the Second Person Plural, and sometimes this can get confusing.

Yet in a number of languages, the Second person singular has two forms - one for formal use, and the other for more familiar use. For example, in Welsh, "You" (meaning You singular) can be either "Chi" (rhymes with the word "tea",) which is formal, or "Ti"(pronounced as "tea"), which is familiar. You would never dream of using the more familiar "Ti", unless you were talking to someone in your immediate family, or a very, very close friend.

People are also quick to distance themselves from actions which might be blamed on them - for example, they use the corporate form of "The Company believes..." or "It is the policy of....", rather than "I think..." or "I believe..." , or even the ridiculous "One thinks that..."

And why did this seem relevant this week? Well, we often think that anyone who uses the language of "Thee" and "Thou" when it comes to talking to God is really old-fashioned and archaic. Well, actually, in the language of King James, when the Authorised Bible was written, "Thee" and "Thou" were actually the familiar form of the Second Person Singular. To address God as "Thee" was to say "I belong to your family, and we are as close as it is possible to get"

Puts a new spin for me on the wonderful Hymn ( Redemption Hymnal No; 524!) by W.R Featherstone;

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine,
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now!

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy Brow
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now!

I'll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath,
And say, should the death-dew lie cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus,'tis now!

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now!

Pat's Thought for the Day;
To say "I love You" to God can sometimes seem very easy in a throwaway society. How about telling Him today "Father, I love Thee"?