Martin Luther wrote the words of the hymn as a translation of the Latin Agnus Dei from the liturgy of the mass.

It appears in modern German hymnals, both the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG 190:2) and the Catholic Gotteslob (GL 208).

[3] The hymn first appeared with the Zahn 58 tune in Bugenhagen's Braunschweig order of church service, printed in Wittenberg in 1528.

[7] Robin A. Leaver points out that Luther used the tune of the Kyrie for this hymn in his Deutsche Messe to achieve symmetry.

Bach used it several times, notably in the lost Weimarer Passion, in his cantata for the last Sunday before Lent Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn, BWV 23,[8] in the second version of his St John Passion,[9] and in a chorale prelude, BWV 619, a canon at the twelfth interval, as part of his Orgelbüchlein.