An Exposition of the Last Psalme

On November 5, 1613, John Boys stood at Paul's Cross and delivered a thundering defense of Protestant worship. This published sermon takes Psalm 150 as its text, but its purpose is far more immediate: to frame the recently foiled Gunpowder Plot as a divine deliverance worthy of national thanksgiving. Boys constructs his argument as both theological treatise and political polemic, insisting that true praise of God requires rejecting Catholic 'idolatry' toward saints in favor of direct adoration of the Almighty. The work pulses with post-Reformation confidence, arguing that England's reformed church has finally gotten worship right, restoring the proper object of reverence. For modern readers, the text offers a vivid window into how early modern Protestants understood their faith as both spiritual truth and national identity, particularly on a day designed to remember their escape from Catholic conspiracy. It's not scripture commentary as we know it today; it's a sermon meant to be heard, to unite a congregation in gratitude for a God who apparently cared particularly about British constitutionalism.