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Obj. ••Oseph did sweare by the life of Pharaoh, Gen. 42. 15.
Ans. Some held that this was no Oath, but a vehement kinde of asseveration, as Hanna said to Eli, As thy soule liveth, 1 Sam. 1. ••6. and Abner to Saul, Sam. 17. 56. And so they would have the meaning to be this: As truly as Pharaoh liveth, or as I wish his life and he••lth, so it is true that I say; but it is not all one kinde or phrase, to say unto one present, As thy soule liveth, and of one absent, to say, by his life, or soule; it there∣fore shewed some infirmity in Joseph, though he worshipped the true God, yet he learned to speake as other Courtiers did, to sweare by Pharaohs life; yet rather of custome of speech, or the more cunningly to conceale himself from his Brethren, then of any purposed imitation of their superstitious Oathes; therefore Jo∣sephs example can be no warrant for us to imitate.
Obj. It is usuall when men take an Oath, to lay their hand upon the Gospel, therefore it is lawfull to sweare by the Creature.
Ans. Men using the externall signe doe not sweare by it, no more then Abrahams servant did sweare by his Masters Thigh when he put his hand under it, Gen. 24. 1. he sware by the name of God. So the Lord saith, I will lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I will live for ever, Deut. 32. 40. and the Angel lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, Rev. 10. 6. so they lay their hands upon the Book, as a visible signe or seale of the Oath, but they sweare not by the Book, but by God the Author of the Book; but of the two, I rather ap∣prove of the lifting up of the hand, as in the presence of God; 'it being the posture which the Angels and God himself are said to approve of, as in the texts afore mentioned.