This cantata sets a Latin strophic poem which waxes somewhat syrupy in its praise of Jesus. The text itself makes reference to the sweetness of Jesus: "Sweet memory of Jesus, bringing true joy unto the heart; Indeed his presence is sweeter than honey. Nothing sweeter could be sung, nothing could be more pleasant to the ear, Nothing could be sweeter to the soul than Jesus son of God." This sort of poetry appears quite frequently in works from Italian Catholic composers, particularly in antiphons devoted to praise of Mary, however northern Protestants adapted this poetic style to Jesus worship, often even changing the words to Marian antiphons, turning them into pieces about Jesus. While one might normally not expect such syrupy sweetness from the colder German north, this sort of poetic text appealed to the Pietists, a movement in the Lutheran faith who favored a sort of sweet meditative spirituality.

The cantata is scored for two sopranos, two violins, and continuo. The text is eight stanzas long, and of the eight stanzas both sopranos sing at the same time only in the first, third, seventh, and eighth stanzas. Each stanza is separated by play from the violins. Buxtehude keeps the work unified by bringing back similar material each time the violins enter the texture, and after the eighth stanza Buxtehude repeats the first stanza again so that the piece ends as it began.

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