 The English lawyer and politician Francis Rous authored a new metrical paraphrase of the Book of Psalms which he published in 1641.Under Oliver Cromwell, Rous had been appointed a member of the Westminster Assembly and was a prominent figure among the English Puritans.Before his Psalms could be approved, they were subjected to scrutiny by the Long Parliament, and a committee of translators was formed to review submissions by Rous and by his rival, William Barton.