While the earlier composition had also trumpets and timpani in its outer movements, Bach did not copy these parts in his autograph score of the sacred version of the work.

[2][3][5] Bach composed Freue dich, erlöste Schar, a cantata for St. John's Day (24 June), in Leipzig, where the traditional readings from scripture for the feast day were, from the Book of Isaiah: "the voice of a preacher in the desert" (Isaiah 40:1–5), and from the Gospel of Luke: the birth of John the Baptist and the Benedictus of Zechariah (Luke 1:57–80).

In the 1730s, parody texts for vocal music which Bach had previously composed for another occasion were often delivered by Christian Friedrich Henrici, known under the pen name Picander, as seems to have been the case for BWV 30.2 too.

This melody, based on an older tune, first appeared in its chorale form as a setting of Psalm 42 by Louis Bourgeois, in the 1551 edition of the Genevan Psalter (Pseaumes octante trois de David).

In 1752, two years after Bach's death, his son Wilhelm Friedemann added reworked parts for two trumpets and timpani in these movements, and applied some other changes, for a performance in Halle.

The movement also reverses expectations regarding introductions, beginning with a combined vocal and instrumental thematic statement before presenting it without voices.

The "dazzling and brilliant" bass aria of Part I is characterized by triplet figures and includes full string accompaniment in roulades.

[16] Both Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel performed the work in the second half of the 18th century: the former in Halle in 1752, and the latter in Hamburg in 1780.

[5] In 1866 Robert Franz published a vocal score (with his piano reduction of the orchestral material) of the cantata, which in the first half of the 20th century was republished with an English translation by Alfred G. Langley (Sing For Joy ye Ransomed Band).