（诗27）造物主是我的亮光 (Psalm 27) The Creator Is My Light

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

Psalm 27 is a cherished text, especially during the Jewish High Holidays. As Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Assembly) approaches in the autumn (the 22nd day of the seventh month in the biblical calendar), many Jews feel a sense of nostalgia toward this psalm. They have been reciting it twice daily since the beginning of the month of Elul (from the end of summer) and will soon pause its recitation until the following year.

Psalm 27 is about yearning to be in the presence of the Creator. During the period in which this psalm is recited, the Jewish people observe several holidays: Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret, all of which are divinely appointed times for Israel to meet with the Creator. No wonder the psalmist declares in Psalm 27:4:

“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

I have long wanted to write a reflection on Psalm 27, but I feel overwhelmed with where to begin. So, today, I’ll start by discussing the first verse—if only just the beginning of it.

Psalm 27:1 reads:

“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

Many years ago, I was deeply worried about something. While praying in the morning and reading this verse, sunlight suddenly appeared brightly through my skylight. I felt an instant wave of encouragement, and my worries vanished. Blessed is the Lord, in the end, what I feared never came to pass.

In this verse, the psalmist David compares the Creator to light. Similarly, 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light.” But how exactly is the Creator like light?

When a person is in darkness, they are often afraid. But with light, the fear subsides. In the same way, David finds comfort in the presence of the Creator, alleviating his fears. This may be why he likens God to light. However, physical light, as we know it, is just electromagnetic radiation—a created entity. How can it adequately represent the Creator? The truth is, no created thing can perfectly represent the Creator. Even though I possess more scientific knowledge about light than David did, my more scientific understanding only highlights a few additional ways that light serves as an imperfect analogy for God:

The Creator, like light, cannot be surpassed. No matter how fast we run or what kind of vehicle we use, if we try to chase light, it will always travel away from us at the same unreduced speed—light’s relative velocity to us does not change. The speed of light, although finite in itself, is like an infinite quantity compared to any finite number in terms of its relative speed to us, and thus cannot be surpassed. The comparison between the Creator and us is the same: no matter how much we know, the gap between Him and us does not diminish. The Creator is infinite, and no matter how smart we are, how much we achieve, or how perfectly we perform, we are still finite, and compared to Him, there is always an infinitely large gap.
The Creator, like light, exhibits unity in diversity. Sunlight seems white, but it contains many colors that manifest differently depending on the objects it illuminates—flowers appear red, leaves green, and water blue, all from the same source of light. Similarly, the Creator is one, yet His actions are diverse. As 1 Samuel 2:6-7 says, “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.” The same Creator governs all these seemingly opposite events. (See a related discussion at https://themitzvahproject.org/the-shema/.)
The Creator, like light, sustains life. When sunlight shines on plants, it powers photosynthesis, which provides us with oxygen and the energy in our food. The Creator is the one who nourishes and sustains our lives. From the womb, He feeds us, even before we are capable of feeding ourselves. Through our mother’s placenta, we receive the nutrients we need, and our mothers themselves rely on food that indirectly comes from the sun’s energy, which plants convert through photosynthesis. This process is awe-inspiring, and it was designed for us even before we were born.

What is particularly remarkable is that although the ancient human-authors of the Bible did not have modern scientific knowledge, the Bible contains hints that align with these scientific viewpoints:

Regarding the third point (light sustaining life), in the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself both “the light” and “the bread of life,” implying a connection between light and sustenance.
On the second point (unity in diversity), the Hebrew word for “light” (אור) shares an acronym with three Hebrew words that mean “unity” (אחד) “and” (ו) “multiplicity” (רבים), similar to how we might use the acronym “MAGA” to stand for “Make America Great Again.”
On the first point (the speed of light being insurmountable), the Hebrew word for “light” (אור) has a numerical value (gematria) that is equal to the Hebrew word for “infinite” (אינסוף) (both summing to 207). Infinity, of course, is beyond the reach of any finite number.

The concept of infinity also suggests no end. And although we will pause the recitation of Psalm 27 after Shemini Atzeret and say goodbye to the phrase “the LORD is my light“, we will begin a new Torah reading cycle soon (either on this same day or the next). As we start the new cycle, we will once again encounter the theme of light: (Genesis 1:3) “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Relevant links:

（诗27）造物主是我的亮光

当秋天圣经历7月22日的第八日严肃会将要来临时，犹太人可能会特别珍视留恋诗篇27，因为他们每年从一个多月前（夏末的圣经历6月初）开始，每天晚上和早晨两次阅读这首诗，一直到第八日严肃会。很快要和这首诗告别了，要等明年夏天结束时才在再开始。诗篇27篇是渴望与造物主相会的诗，阅读期间会经历很多节期（吹角节，赎罪日，住棚节，第八日严肃会），是造物主与以色列人订好的约会时间。怪不得在诗篇27:4里诗人说， “有一件事，我曾求耶和华，我仍要寻求。就是一生一世住在耶和华的殿中，瞻仰他的荣美，在他的殿里求问。”

我很想写与诗篇27有关的读经笔记，又觉得千头万绪不知从何开始。我想不管怎样，今天先开始讨论一下头一句吧，哪怕只是个这句的开头也行。

诗篇27:1（大卫的诗。）耶和华是我的亮光，是我的拯救。我还怕谁呢？耶和华是我性命的保障（保障或作力量），我还惧谁呢？

多年前，我曾经为某件事很担心。在早晨祷告后阅读到这一诗句时，突然天窗里阳光正好出现了，我心里很受鼓励，一下就不担心了，感谢主，后来担心的事真的完全没有发生。

在诗篇27:1这里，诗人大卫把造物主比喻为亮光，约翰一书1:5也说“神就是光”。造物主到底在哪些方面像光呢？

人在黑暗中可能会害怕，有了亮光，就不那么害怕。有造物主同在，就使得大卫不害怕，这大概是诗人大卫把造物主比喻为亮光的原因。其实，物质世界的光不过是电磁波，是被造物，怎么能用来比喻造物主呢？造物主其实是无法用被造物完美地比喻的。即使我比诗人大卫对光拥有更多的现代科学知识，能多想到以下三点，也只能是提示神与光在其他方面也有某些程度上的相似：

1。造物主像光那样无法被超越。如果我们要追一束光，那么无论我们跑得再快，无论我们坐什么样的交通工具，光所超越我们的相对速度仍然不会减少。光速本身虽然有限，但在与我们的相对速度上就像是无限大与任何有限数的差别一样无法被超越。造物主和我们的比较也是这样，我们知道的再多，祂的与我们的差距也不会变小。造物主是无限的，我们再聪明，再有成就，做得再完美，也是有限的，比起祂来也总有着无限大的差距。

2。造物主像光那样可以是有多样表现的合一。我们在日光下看到花红叶绿水蓝各不相同，其实都是来自白色日光的不同组成部分。白光照着不同的东西上，其中未被吸收而被反射出来的光线的颜色也就不同。与此类似，造物主在不同场合的表现也很不同，撒母耳记上2:6-7说，“耶和华使人死，也使人活，使人下阴间，也使人往上升。他使人贫穷，也使人富足，使人卑微，也使人高贵。” 所以，主宰这些看似完全不同甚至相反的现象的，是同一位造物主。（参见一个有关的讨论 https://themitzvahproject.org/the-shema/.)

3。造物主像光那样可以喂养生命。阳光照射在植物上，通过光合作用，就可以我们提供氧气和食物里的能量。https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/光合作用

造物主是喂养我们，维持我们生命的那一位。人从母腹中就被造物主所喂养。胎儿不会自己动手制作食物，是主安排母亲通过胎儿的脐带给他输送营养，而母亲自己所吃的食物也是从造物主安排的太阳的能量而来，经过光合作用转化为食物中可以被吸收的化学能。这个过程很奇妙，是我们出生以前造物主早就为我们设计好了的。

更有意思的是，我虽然觉得这些现代科学对光的认识，写圣经的古人并不知道，但是因为圣经的写作是造物主所默示的，我竟然在圣经里找到了一些相关的暗示：

关于第三条现代科学的认识，光有喂养生命的性质，在圣经新约里耶稣自称是光，又是生命的粮，由此圣经暗示着生命的粮与光有关系。

关于第二条现代科学的认识，光可以是多样的合一，圣经里希伯来文的“光אור” 与

אחד ו רבים（合一而又多样）这三个词由词首所组成的简称相同（类似于用MAGA的简称来表示Make America Great Again）。

关于第一条现代科学的认识，光速无法被超越，圣经里希伯来文的“光אור” 与“无限”（אינסוף) 两词所表示的数值相等（1+6+200=1+10+50+60+6+80=207)。无限大，也是无法被任何有限数所超越的。

无限也表示没有止境。在第八日严肃会，在祷告仪式阅读诗篇27时，虽然我们会在本年度与“造物主是我的亮光”这一诗句告别，但新一年的摩西五经阅读周期也是在这一天或下一天就开始，我们很快就又读到与光有关的经文：（创世纪1:3） “神说，要有光，就有了光。”