"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even  I, will both search My sheep, and seek them  out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in  the day that he is among his sheep that are  scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and   WILL DELIVER THEM out of all places where  they have been scattered in the cloudy and  dark day ."   - Ezekiel 34:11-12 [KJV]   The Shepherd does not go forth in search of the lost sheep in order to make them His own. They are His already, therefore He refers to them as "My sheep." The Lord’s sheep were His before they became lost for they were given to Him by the Father in the election of grace. They remained His even when they became sinners due to Adam’s transgression. The good Shepherd said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28)

"And ye know that He was manifested to take  away our sins; and in Him is no sin" - I John 3:5 [KJV] There was not a speck of sin on the conscience, nor a principle of sin in the nature of His people, for which Christ was not judged on the cross; and they are now looked upon as having died with Christ, lain in the grave with Christ, been raised with Christ, perfectly accepted in Him, their sins, their iniquities, their transgressions, their enmity, their uncircumcision, having been entirely put away by the cross. The sentence of death has been written on the flesh; but the believer is in possession of a new life, in union with his risen Head in glory. What rest – perfect rest – for the heart and conscience is here! What full relief for the burdened spirit! All our sins buried in the grave of Christ, not one – even the smallest – left out! God did this for us! All that His searching eye could detect in us, He laid on the head of Christ when He hung