This delicate cantata has the distinction of being the only one for solo tenor in all of Bach’s surviving output. It was composed for the 22nd Sunday after Trinity, and premiered on November 17, 1726.

This Sunday’s gospel is Matthew 18: 23-35, which refers to the parable of the just man who forgives his servant’s debt, who then in turn is unable to repeat the gesture towards his companion.

The libretto is by Christoph Birkmann, like several other cantatas for solo voice of this period, and is entirely written in the first person.

The first two movements are self-reflexive. In the aria that opens the cantata, configured as a sextet, the subject laments being a “slave of sin” and stands before the just God with “fear and trembling.” The tension of the vocal line (high range and long notes) contrasts with the peace projected by the soothing rhythm and consonant intervals of the flute, oboe d’amore and the two violins. The dramatic recitative that follows discusses the omnipresence of God, incorporating images from Psalm 139 (the “wings of the dawn”, the “end of the sea”) illustrated with musical motifs.

The two movements that follow change the tone from lament to prayer. The aria, with flute and basso continuo, opens with the words “have mercy” (“Erbarme dich”), reminiscent of the alto aria in the St. Matthew Passion, which Bach would premiere the following year. The following recitative repeats the expression, elaborates on the concept of God’s forgiveness and leads to the final chorale, with a text by Johann Rist (1642), which also appears (with different harmonization) in the Passion after the aria “Erbarme dich”.