Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Happy is the man that feareth alway - in prosperity as well as adversity (Proverbs 14:16). "Feareth" to offend God; not slavish, but filial fear; not linked with anxiety, doubt, or distrust as to the reality of grace received (1 John 4:18). Reverential caution as to sin, joined with love to God, opposed to the rashness and hardening of the heart whereby sinners make light of sin, and trust in their own righteousness (Ezekiel 33:13).
But he that hardeneth his heart (against the Lord's precepts, threats, and promises, and the inward motions of the Spirit, under a false notion as to the patience and mercy of God) "shall fall into mischief." So Pharaoh, Exodus 14:5-8; Exodus 14:23-31.