This hymn's first strophe is in terms of genre, the oldest German "leise". In the Medieval Mass, the people could only sing the first part of the Kyrye, eleison (Lord, have mercy on us). All the other parts of Mass were sung by the priest and/or the choir. When the people composed sacred hymns, which were sung outside the temple, they would add the Kyrie eleison to it, as if they were asking for forgiveness for their boldness. The first strophe of this hymn is mentioned by Berthold of Ratisbona, who died in 1272. Thomas Müntzer also used it in his German Mass at Allstedt in 1523. Luther recommends its use in his 1523
"A Form for the Mass". Shortly following the publication of "The Form for the Mass", Luther must have added three strophes to the hymn. In the 1526 "German Mass" Luther gives the hymn a prominent place, and in 1542 the hymn is placed among those that can be sung at funerals. The weeks in which the hymn was composed were especially trying ones. The Enthusiasts were full at work and the peasants were exceedingly restless.

1- Ao Santo Espírito quero orar: Sobretudo fé nos queiras dar.
Vem e nos protege no fim da via, ao partirmos do exílio à pátria.
Kyrie eleison.

2- Preciosa luz, vem resplandecer, Cristo só ensina a conhecer.
Que no Salvador permaneçamos e na celestial pátria entremos.
Kyrie eleison.

3- Tu doce amor, ó dá-nos teu favor, faze-nos sentir o teu ardor;
sempre nos amemos mutuamente, que nos una a paz fraternalmente.
Kyrie eleison.

4- Ó tu supremo Consolador, dá que não temamos morte ou dor;
e que a nossa mente não desespere se satã ameaça de morte.
Kyrie eleison.