Be With Me, Lord

Now in the public domain per CCLI, this is a lovely hymn.  The "Thee" wording, however, makes the song less forceful than the modern "you."  Must we give effect to the sense of respect that the author apparently wished to convey through the use of "Thee" -- assuming he had the common misperception that the term connoted respect rather than intimacy?  Opinions will likely differ, but I believe the message of the song will be better understood by contemporary audiences if modern pronoun usage is adopted.

Original lyrics.

Be with me, Lord – I cannot live without THEE,
I dare not try to take one step alone.
I cannot bear the loads of life, unaided,
I need THY strength to lean myself upon.

Be with me Lord, and then if dangers threaten,
If storms of trial burst above my head,
If lashing seas leap ev’rywhere about me,
They cannot harm, or make my heart afraid.

Be with me Lord! No other gift or blessing
THOU COULDST bestow could with this one compare –
A constant sense of THY abiding presence,
Wheree’er I am, to feel that THOU ART near.

Be with me, Lord, when loneliness o’ertakes me,
When I must weep amid the fires of pain,
And when shall come the hour of “my departure”
For “worlds unknown,” O Lord, be with me then.

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm

Renewal lyrics.

Be with me, Lord – I cannot live without YOU,
I dare not try to take one step alone.
I cannot bear the loads of life, unaided,
I need YOUR strength to lean myself upon.

Be with me Lord, and then if dangers threaten,
If storms of trial burst above my head,
If lashing seas leap ev’rywhere AROUND me,
They cannot harm, or make my heart afraid.

Be with me Lord! No other gift or blessing
YOU CAN bestow could with this one compare –
A constant sense of YOUR abiding presence,
Wheree’er I am, to feel that YOU ARE near.

Be with me, Lord, when loneliness o’ertakes me,
When I must weep amid the fires of pain,
And when shall come the hour of “my departure”
For “worlds unknown,” O Lord, be with me then.

Renewal lyric changes by RH Reinhard