Johann Sebastian Bach composed Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust (Delightful rest, beloved pleasure of the soul),[1] BWV 170, a church cantata for the sixth Sunday after Trinity in Leipzig.

[3] The text of the cantata is drawn from Georg Christian Lehms' Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opfer (1711)[2] and speaks of the desire to lead a virtuous life and so enter heaven and avoid hell.

[8] He scored the work for an alto soloist and a small ensemble of oboe d'amore (Oa), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), obbligato organ (Org) and basso continuo (BC).

[10] The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr describes the mood as contemplative, and the melody of the voice as expansive, on a background of repeated quavers in the instruments.

[4] The second aria is set without continuo, rare in Bach's compositions, and symbolic of the lack of direction in the lives of those who ignore the word of God, as spoken about in the text.

[2][11] Notable singers in the alto range recorded the cantata, male (as in Bach's time, also called altus or countertenor) and female (contralto or mezzo-soprano), including Alfred Deller, Maureen Forrester, René Jacobs, Julia Hamari, Aafje Heynis, Paul Esswood, Jochen Kowalski, Nathalie Stutzmann, Andreas Scholl, Michael Chance, Guillemette Laurens, Magdalena Kožená and Robin Blaze.