Bach structured the cantata in 13 movements and scored it for four vocal parts and a Baroque orchestra with trumpets and timpani, flutes, oboes, and strings.

[7] Bach had been presenting church cantatas for the Christmas season in the Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche since his appointment as director musices in Leipzig in 1723, including cantatas for the third day of Christmas:[5][8] In 1733, Augustus III of Poland succeeded his father, Augustus the Strong, as Elector of Saxony and took residence in Dresden.

[18] Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen, BWV 248 III, for the Third Day of Christmas in 1734, is the third of six cantatas (or parts) constituting this oratorio.

Auf, preiset die Tage, BWV 248 I, had been performed on the first feast day, and was focused on the birth of Jesus.

The second cantata, Part II of the oratorio, Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, was performed the following day, focused on the annunciation to the shepherds.

The librettist included three stanzas from Lutheran hymns: "Dies hat er alles uns getan" from Luther's "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ",[25] "Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren" from Paul Gerhardt's "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen",[26] and for the conclusion "Seid froh, dieweil" from Christoph Runge's "Laßt Furcht und Pein".

[27][28] The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann noted that the traditional melodies of the chorales, which are still in use, connect the music to the present time.

[29] The cantata features four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir (SATB) and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr), timpani, two traversos (Tra) two oboes (Ob) also doubling as oboes d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.

[31] In the original, three solo voices enter one after the other, tenor, soprano, alto, which is copied in the oratorio for the choral parts.

[28] In an alto aria, Mary seems to tell herself "Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder fest in deinem Glauben ein!"

[28] Using the 15th stanza of Paul Gerhardt's 1653 hymn "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen", devotion is promised into eternity, which is described as "... ohne Zeit dort im andern Leben" (... without time, there in the other life).

The melody that Bach used was written by Georg Ebeling in 1666 for "Warum sollt ich mich denn grämen" (Zahn 6461).

[28] It is the fourth stanza from Christoph Runge's 1653 song "Laßt Furcht und Pein", with a melody composed by Kaspar Füger in 1593 for "Wir Christenleut'" (Zahn 2072).

[27] The chorale is in F-sharp minor, and unusually also ends in this key, which makes for a better transition to the repetition of the opening chorus in D major.