Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the inauguration of the newly elected town council, which took place in a festive service at the Nikolaikirche on the Monday following St. Bartholomew's Day (24 August).

Bach reworked the first part of the second movement Jauchzet, ihr erfreuten Stimmen for the Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum in the Symbolum Nicenum (Credo) of his Mass in B minor.

It is unusual for Bach to open a festive cantata with a solo voice, but the words "aus der Stille" (out of silence)[1] may have prompted him to write it for alto and two oboe d'amore.

The tenor recitative is accompanied by strings to underline its character as a prayer for justice and future blessings.

The words for the final chorale are taken from the German Te Deum, "Herr Gott, dich loben wir", by Martin Luther.