Total Praise (Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills)

Total Praise (‘Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills’). Richard Smallwood* (1948– ).  ‘Total Praise’ was first heard on Smallwood’s Adoration—Live in Atlanta album (1996). In print, it originated as a choral composition. The hymn’s first appearance in hymnals was in the African American Heritage Hymnal (2001) and The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) (2001). Few hymns have assumed an iconic status in the hearts of the African American worshiping community in such a brief time. Smallwood composed the song out of the anguish of caring for several ill family members—his ailing mother, terminally ill godbrother, and the emotionally struggling foster brother. He confessed...