BWV 156 was Bach's fourth and last cantata for the third Sunday after Epiphany. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Romans, rules for life (Romans 12:17–21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the healing of a leper (Matthew 8:1–13).[2] The librettist was Picander. He incorporated two chorale tunes: "Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt" by Johann Herman Schein (1628) and "Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir" by Kaspar Bienemann (1582).[1]
The sinfonia was likely derived from an earlier oboe concerto and was later adapted as part of Bach's Harpsichord Concerto in F minor.