England’s cathedrals have been the sites of some of the most wonderful preacher/theologians of all time. Among them must be named John Donne (St. Paul’s, London) and J. C. Ryle (Liverpool). Others who never served in cathedral positions would certainly include John Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. One of the less-known settings is Bristol Cathedral, where the Puritan era preacher was Samuel Crossman (1624-1683), the author of one of the most wonderful passion hymns of all time, “My Song Is Love Unknown.” It was written in 1664 as a tribute to George Herbert (1593-1633), another of the great Puritan preacher/theologian/poets, one from the Shakespearean era. Though never a clergyman in a cathedral, his ministry is remembered today through such works as his 77 stanza poem “The Temple,” and the hymn, “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing,” which is based on his writings.
Samuel Crossman was born in the town of Bradfield St. George in Suffolk, England. He received a bachelor of divinity degree at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was grounded in Puritan theology. As an Anglican Puritan minister, he served both an Anglican parish at All Saints, Sudbury, while simultaneously preaching to a Puritan congregation. He took part in the non-conformist’s Savoy Conference, but was among the 2000 clergy ejected from the Church of England due to their refusal to submit to the 1662 Act of Uniformity, which demanded use of the official “Book of Common Prayer” for the liturgy in worship. The Savoy Conference was a failed attempt to re-write the “Book of Common Prayer” that would be acceptable to Puritans as well as Anglicans. It was during his exile from the Church of England that he wrote “My Song Is Love Unknown” as a poem in 1664. It was first published in “The Young Man’s Meditation” and then became published as an Anglican hymn in 1684, just two years after his death. The last verse of the hymn was written as an imitation of themes from George Herbert’s poem, “The Temple,” as a tribute by Crossman to Herbert. After being expelled, Crossman recanted and was soon ordained in 1665, becoming a royal chaplain. He was called to a position in Bristol in 1667 and became Dean of Bristol Cathedral in 1683. While at Bristol, he wrote 9 hymns. After his death, he was buried in the south aisle of the Cathedral.