My wife and I went to the Rite I service yesterday because our daughter was acolyting.* I suddenly liked the thees and thous of that liturgy. These words are archaic versions of the second person singular, corresponding to the French tu and the German Du.
The second person singular is regarded as an intimate form of address, reserved for use by family and friends. To use the intimate form prematurely or inappropriately is considered rude or even insulting. See generally this explanation in Wikipedia, which asserts that “At the trial of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1603, Sir Edward Coke, prosecuting for the Crown, reportedly sought to insult Raleigh by saying, I thou thee, thou traitor!” This French essay considers whether doctors should use tu with their patients, and this advice column discusses the inappropriate use of tu in the workplace.
So, it seems to say something that we presume to address God as “Thou.”
* For some reason, I don’t get upset by the verb-ization of “acolyte,” whereas it does bug me when people use “impact” as a verb.
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