First Ripe Fruits: Being a Collection of Tracts; to Which Are Added, Two Sermons. With a Short Memoir of the Author

First Ripe Fruits: Being A Collection Of Tracts; To Which Are Added, Two Sermons. With A Short Memoir Of The Author by John Mitchell Mason is a collection of early American evangelical writings originally published in 1803. This volume includes Mason’s tract First Ripe Fruits, a memoir detailing his Scottish heritage, education at Edinburgh and American colleges, and his ministry in New York, where he led the Associate Reformed Synod and advocated for evangelical revival and missions. Additionally, it features a set of Letters on frequent communion that argue for the regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper and critique sacramental fasts and thanksgiving days as unbiblical innovations. The sermons address themes such as the Heathen, the Christian faith in action, and Christian civics. Overall, the book reflects late 18th-century Protestant priorities, emphasizing doctrinal clarity, church reform, missionary impulse, and the practical ethics of faith in public life.