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Lenten Season · Easter Vigil · Year A

Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10+12, 13-14, 24+35 (30) or Psalm 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)

How Many Are Your Works, O Lord

April 4, 2026

Paradise Landscape with the Creation of the Animals, Jan Brueghel the Younger
Paradise Landscape with the Creation of the Animals, Jan Brueghel the Younger, c. 1630Workshop of Jan Brueghel the Younger
The second Jan Brueghel repeating his father's paradise formula: every creature painted individually, in a wood opening onto water.O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.Jan Brueghel the YoungerGrandson of Bruegel, who took over his father's Antwerp workshop at twenty-one and kept its formulas going for decades.Workshop of Jan Brueghel the YoungerNo holding institution is recorded with the image; the painting comes from the family workshop in Antwerp.Workshop of Jan Brueghel the Younger
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 28:1-10Mt 28:1-10
Second ReadingRom. 6:3-11Rom 6:3-11
First ReadingGen. 1:1–2:2Gn 1:1–2:2 orGen. 1:1, 26-31aGn 1:1, 26-31a
Responsorial PsalmPs. 104:1-2, 5-6, 10+12, 13-14, 24+35 (30)Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10+12, 13-14, 24+35 (30) orPs. 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)

Overview & Insights

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all.” (Psalm 104:24)

Psalm 104 hymns Yahweh as Creator. Every four or five verses (or lines of Hb. poetry) appear to be marked off by repeated terms and to treat a distinct realm of creation (vv. 1–4, 5–9, 10–13, 14–18, 19–23, 24–26, 27–30, 31–35; see further Allen, Psalms 101–150 , pp. 31–32). The psalm is very cosmopolitan, echoing motifs from Israelite creation traditions (e.g., Gen. 1, showing both parallels and contrasts), wisdom traditions, Canaanite Baal imagery, and the Egyptian “Hymn to Aton” (written in the mid-fourteenth century; see ANET , pp. 369–71). It therefore demonstrates in the language of the ancient culture that Yahweh is the true divine King over creation.

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Take it further: Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10+12, 13-14, 24+35 (30) or Psalm 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)

Commentary

Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 104Enduring Word Bible Commentary Ps 104 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's exposition of the great creation hymn that echoes the Vigil's Genesis reading.

Psalm 104:1 CommentariesPs 104:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregated classic commentaries on the psalm's praise of God the Creator and Sustainer.

Background & Word Study

Sefaria: Psalms 104 (Hebrew and English)Sefaria: Ps 104 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

The Hebrew text of the creation psalm with translations and linked Jewish commentary.

Psalm 104:1 Hebrew InterlinearPs 104:1 Hebrew Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew-English interlinear for word-level study of the psalm's language of creation and praise.

The Church Fathers

Catena Bible: Psalm 104Catena Bible: Ps 104 Catena

Patristic comment on the psalm's celebration of the Creator's works and the renewing Spirit.

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