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 sacrifice, was to be composed of unhewn stone, "for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." (Exod. xx. 25.) When the self-derived intelligence of man interferes with the pure truths of God's word, and alters them to suit the varying times and the selfish interests of the worldly-minded, it is then that the Divine truth is perverted, the doctrines of men are taught as the doctrines of the Lord, and the iron tool of human invention has profanely polluted the stone, or marred the original order and beauty of truth. The spiritual church of God, as the living temple of the Lord of hosts, can only be built up by the genuine truths of the Word of Revelation. Hence, at the erection of Solomon's temple, it is said that "the house when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was in building." (1 Kings vi. 7.) The doctrines of the church must all be taken from the divine quarry, or book of revelation: there they will all be found made ready for use, and needing no alteration. They ought never to be polluted by the iron tool of human invention.

Bricks are different from stones. They are an artificial substitute for them, made or fabricated by man; they therefore aptly denote what is fictitious. Thus, in describing the building of Babel's tower, it is said, that "they had brick for stone," that is, falsehood instead of truth. Hence came the confusion of language, and the dispersion of the builders. Worship from what is false in doctrine, is, in the sacred Scripture, described by "provoking the Lord to anger, and burning incense upon altars of brick."