from on high

English

Prepositional phrase

from on high

1. From Heaven, from above.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:78:

     Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited vs,

   • 1819, Reginald Heber, The Missionary Hymn‎^[1]:

     Can we whose souls are lighted
     With Wisdom from on high,
     Can we to men benighted
     The lamp of life deny?

   • 1984, New International Version (Bible translation), Psalms 18:16:

     He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.

2. From people with power or authority.
   • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “chapter 3 (Manchester Insurrection)”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book I (Proem):

     For the rest, that the Manchester Insurrection could yet discern no radiance of Heaven on any side of its horizon; but feared that all lights, of the O’Connor or other sorts, hitherto kindled, where but deceptive fish-oil transparencies, or bog will-o’-wisp lights, and no dayspring from on high: for this also we will honour the poor Manchester Insurrection, and augur well of it.

   • 2010 January 27, Matt Taibbi, “Populism: Just Like Racism!”, in True/Slant‎^[2], archived from the original on 2013-01-19:

     The whole point of America is that we are all supposed to be our own masters, never viewing anyone as being by birth or situation inherently better or more capable than ourselves, and so the notion of relying upon some nebulous class of investment bankers to “channel opportunity” from on high strikes me as being un-American.